Frozen Love
by flamanipulator
Summary: Claire gets into trouble with a certain guy, and no one can do anything to help her. When the choice is brought down to Claire's death, or her becoming frozen forever, what will she decide to do? Quil/Claire. Claire is 17, so around 15 years after BD.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is not a sequel to 'The Cullens are Gone?'. This is after BD happened, and there are just a few changes, such as a few more pack members. I hope everyone likes this one.**

Frozen Love

Chapter 1

"Uncle Jake!" I shouted, running towards him.

"Hey, Claire. You've got another babysitting job." He said as Renesmée walked up with a two-year old Jenna in her arms. My Aunt Renesmée was two years younger than me, but she looked like an adult. "We're heading out for a hunting trip for a while. We'll be back in a few hours." She said, handing Jenna over to me.

"C'mon Jenna, we'll go do something fun." I said as they left, turning to bring her inside the house.

The phone rang as I was painting her nails. "Hold on." I said, stretching her fingers out so the paint didn't touch anything. "Hold them just like that.

"Hello?" I asked the phone.

"Claire, you're going next week, right?" Lily's voice asked.

"To your birthday? Of course!" I told my best friend.

"Great. We need to go shopping then! When do you-"

"Can I call you back? I'm babysitting." I interrupted.

"Oh, sure thing. Later!" she said, hanging up. I returned to Jenna, to carry out my duties, picking up the bottle of paint once again.

Aunt Renesmée came by after hunting, to pick Jenna up. "Wow, your nails look great!" she told Jenna happily.

"Thanks for watching her. Again. How is everyone?" she asked, meaning the rest of the pack. "oh, everyone is great! We haven't had any vampire problems since... well, I don't remember any! I think that the last one was the Volturi, all those years ago!" I laughed, thinking to the last time Quil ever left to fight vampires, which was to far back to remember. "Of course, everyone still goes on their rounds, but I think they expanded their boundaries to include Port Angeles, even."

"Well, with the two packs, it makes things a bit easier. Haha. I keep seeing Wolves running around whenever I go somewhere at night. And during the day for that matter!" I thought about the thirteen wolves in Sam's pack, and the four others in Jacob's. Well, three, not counting Leah. She left a while back, going to live in Seattle. Then there was Jacob himself, bringing the total in his pack to five.

"Well, say hi to Quil for me." She said, handing me my money. "We should get going. She needs a nap."

"Alright, goodbye Aunt Nessie. Thank you!" I called as she turned to run. I turned into the house, and called Lily.

I then sat on the couch, turning on the television. I watched an old horror movie, bored out of my mind.

_She crept through the house, expecting the creature to jump out at any minute. Slowly, she opened a door, attempting to find some weapon. She heard cold, dead breath behind her, and froze. Slowly, she turned around. "Rawr!" it bellowed. She screamed._

"Claire!" I jumped, screaming as the deep voice screamed my name from right behind me. Quil fell over laughing as I straightened out, calming my heart. "Quil!" I screeched. "Some imprinter you are! I thought you were supposed to protect me from heart attacks and arrhythmias, and things like that!"

He walked over to me, suppressing new laughter. I turned away. I felt his arms come around me, and my little anger melted away. "I would never let one of those silly health problems hurt you." He said quietly in my ear.

"You can't help me if my heart stops." I argued.

"I would be there, beating it for you." He persisted, becoming very corny. He turned me around, but just before our lips met, a bloodcurdling scream sounded from the TV. "I don't know why you watched that." He said, turning it off.

"It keeps me busy." I said.

"I know something else to keep you occupied." He said, pulling his corny lines again. Sitting down on the couch, he pulled me onto his lap. His lips met mine, and I was thoroughly distracted.

We broke apart as we heard a car in the driveway; my mother disliked having Quil and I in such close contact, despite the imprinting.

"Claire!" she called from the driveway. "If you and Quil are making out, you have three seconds before I come in." Quil chuckled as I sat next to him, an acceptable distance for my mother. She opened the door and immediately said, "Quil, use your big werewolf arms and help me carry stuff in." She put a grocery bag on the counter and left, Quil following.

"Hey, Ellen?" Quil asked from outside. "Can Claire spend the night at my place? There's a bonfire and it will probably go until early morning. _Yes! _I crowed silently. I had waited for another bonfire since I learned about the whole 'wolf thing'. "Will there be other people there?" she asked. "Besides pack members and imprints?"

_Ugh! She is so nosy/overprotective/annoying! She thinks that just because it's only pack members who won't care that he'll try something!_

"Yeah, there'll be normal people. Probably not overnight, but during, yeah." He told her, his voice calm and assuring. "Don't worry, she'll be perfectly safe." I guess she was still conflicted. "It's not her safety that I'm worried about." She mumbled quietly. _Mom!_

"Don't worry Ellen, I'll keep them out of trouble." A voice said from behind me. I turned around and saw Seth standing there. "Seth!" I called. "I haven't seen you for like, ever! Where have you been?"

"I've been up in Seattle for a while, keeping Leah company. I go up and visit her every now and then." He told me, giving my mom a big hug.  
"It's been too long, Seth." She said.

"So, are we going to the bonfire now?" he asked.

"Now?" my mom asked. She didn't want me all alone with Quil. Stupid, untrusting mother.

"Yeah. Really, Ellen. They won't get up to anything. Except maybe kissing, but none of us will let it go beyond that. Besides, the Cullens are coming, so even after everyone is asleep, they won't be alone. They wouldn't do anything, anyway. You gotta have more trust in them, Ellen! Especially Quil." Seth argued our case quite convincingly. My mom gave in to his reasoning, unable to think of a good comeback for why we shouldn't go. "Fine. Be home by ten tomorrow." She said, giving in. "And Quil...If she ever comes home from somewhere with you, pregnant, vampires will be the least of your worries." She threatened. With the look she gave Quil, I think even a vampire would have backed down.

xXx

The explosions rang out all around me. Screams and shouts were adding to the chaos, making hearing nearly impossible. The largest fire of all crackled just 15 feet away from me, roaring far above anyone's heads, including the Quileutes. I screamed as an especially loud explosion rang out overhead, causing another round of screaming and pointing.

The fireworks were everywhere. I had never seen so many fireworks outside of a stadium on the 4th of July. Sam's pack had made the bonfire large enough to be seen for miles, extending above any of the trees on the reservation. Jacob's pack had supplied the fireworks; well, the Cullens had. They had brought an entire truck full of firecrackers and bottle rockets, and even a cannon to blast the large stadium rockets out over the ocean.

The Cullens, being very flammable, stood farther away than any of the humans, of course. The humans in question were probably grateful, seeing as the Cullens gave everyone, except for those used to the world of myths, the creeps.

Quil sat next to me, staring into the fire while Sam kept the normal people under control with the fireworks. Everyone had eaten, the remains of hot dogs and drinks scattered over the site; they would be picked up before anyone left.

It was probably close to nine 'o' clock, and the fireworks were running out. Explosions still rang out all over the beach, but they were smaller and fewer in number. The Cullens had really outdone themselves in helping out.

"Claire, so what did you think?" Quil asked.

"Is it already over? But it's only nine!" I exclaimed. I thought it would have gone on all night?

"Haha. No, silly. Of course it's not over. Just the public part. As soon as the fireworks are done, all the normal people will be sent home. Then, the real bonfire can start. The Cullens have never been to one of our meetings before, never heard the Quileute stories. Neither has Nessie, and She deserves it more than any of them. So tonight will be the first bonfire with vampires. Strange, the way things turned out in the end, isn't it?" he told me. I sat quietly, wondering how Sam would tell the stories with this huge fire separating everyone, drowning out all his words. I asked Quil this, and he just said, "This was just for the public, as well. There will be a smaller fire down the beach where we'll relocate to once everyone leaves." Oh. That made sense.

The fire was still roaring when all the humans left. Strange, how I didn't think of myself as a human anymore. I guess that was just a perk of being an imprintee, you didn't have to lump yourself with anything common anymore. You were special. _I am special._ I thought smugly as we moved down to the new spot, Quil's arm around my shoulder. It was a chilly night, now that the roaring fire was too far away to give any warmth. _It's a good thing that none of us can get cold. We're either all 108.9 degrees, a little cooler in Aunt Nessie's case, frozen, or have a warm teddy bear to hug. _I thought of my old nick name for Quil affectionately. _Teddy bear, haha._ I laughed quietly. I hadn't called him my teddy bear since I was six, when I first saw his wolf form. Had it really been that long ago?

We were sitting on a log around a smaller fire when Seth dropped next to me, opposite Quil. "So, you ready for the stories? There are two new ones since the last time you heard. We have a few members who only ever heard the originals as well. They still don't trust the Cullens, even though Jake and I live with them." Sam sat down just then, and everything fell silent.

"Welcome, pack members and imprints. Tonight is the first true pack meeting we have had in eight years, with all fifteen of us gathered in one place for pleasantries. Three of you have never met vampires, and I can see the conflict in your eyes, suppressed only by my edict. The other five have only had one encounter, and that was not pleasant. Now, please welcome, for the first time, the Cullen family."

**Please R&R. I will write anyway, just because it's fun, but do please tell me what you think.**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

_Now please welcome, for the first time, the Cullens"_

"This is Carlisle and Esme, Alice and Jasper, Emmet and Rosalie, Edward and Bella, and everyone knows Jacob, Renesmée and Jenna." Each person stood up as they were introduced. The four newest wolves just glared, while the other four smiled uneasily. All of the older wolves gave a loud 'hello' or 'long time no see'. Edward was sitting next to Seth, who threw his arm over the vampire's shoulder, a huge grin on his face. This made me chuckle, but the younger wolves looked shocked.

"Now, I am going to begin with the stories we all know, but not all of us have heard." Sam continued. "I am talking about the Spirit Warriors." Alex, Jesse, Ryan and Gary, the four youngest who had never heard this after they knew it was true, leaned forward anxiously, forgetting the vampires presence entirely. All of the vampires sat forward to listen as well, except for Bella, who had heard them firsthand, and Edward, who had heard them from her and Jake.

As Sam told the story, I noticed Renesmée had her hand on Jenna's face; probably putting the stories into her dreams. The edited version, of course.

Sam paused as he introduced the second story, the arrival of the Cullens. "For generations, the pack remained small, never larger than three or four. Vampires crossed our lands every now and then, so knowledge was never lost, and could always be handed out through thought-speak.

"Nearly one hundred years ago, we encountered a coven larger than any other before. Usually, it was only one or two, but this coven had five members. They stopped us before anyone could get hurt, and told us they did not wish to fight. We knew they were different and told us the truth due to their eye color. We settled on a treaty that allowed us to live mostly in peace for years, until they left.

"Then the coven returned, seventy years later, only with two new members. They assured us that the two new additions had found them, so the treaty was still in effect." Sam paused for a breath and looked over to Carlisle. "Would you like to tell your version of that story? None of us have ever heard it before, as this is the first time. I'm sure we are all very curious as to how you received us."

"Well," Carlisle began, "I guess it would be okay. You don't mind?" he asked, eyeing each wolf in turn. The four newest just stared, but they nodded as well. "Very well.

"When we first encountered Forks, it was just Emmett, Rosalie, Edward, Esme and I. We were exploring the territory one day, when Edward alerted us to the presence of three intelligent creatures. 'Werewolves' he told us. We waited calmly for them to arrive, as Edward said they were heading in our direction.

"We waited for a mere two minutes, but then we found ourselves surrounded by three large wolves. Before they could attack, I introduced myself. 'Hello. I am Carlisle. We apologize for intruding on your land. Be assured, we mean neither you, nor the people in this region, any harm.'

"'How can you lie like that, you are a leech! Of course you mean the people harm!' Edward said, speaking for the wolf. It had snarled the thought in its head, but stared, shocked, at Edward. 'I can read minds. I will translate for you, so you have no need of shifting back.' He told the wolf calmly. The other two growled viciously, but the largest silenced them with a look. 'You must leave immediately.' It said, glaring with absolute hate. 'Can we not be friends? I am sure there is a peaceful solution to allow us to live together in some way.' I implored. It snarled as Edward said, 'You kill humans. We do not allow bloodsuckers to hunt on our lands, or pass through them.' 'But we do not prey upon humans! We consider ourselves vegan, in a sense. We feed only on animals, preferring not to hurt innocents like the rest of our kind.' The wolves stared at us in shock. 'If you do not believe us, look at our eyes. You have seen others of our kind, correct? They have eyes of a deep red. Are our eyes red?' I asked, opening them wide to allow full access. The wolves slowly shook their heads, acknowledging that truth. 'We will allow you to live here, on two conditions: The first is that you must never even set foot upon our lands. No exceptions. The second is that you must never again bite any humans. Other vampires will most likely wander through. You must do your best to prevent them from eating as well, if we do not detect them in time.

"'Now,' he said, finishing the discussion, 'We will always remember this treaty. It does not end when we die. As long as you wish to live in the area, this treaty will not be broken, or we will expose what you are to the humans. Then we will do our best to kill you. Our offspring will also know of this treaty, and will know you by your eyes. We will know if you bite a human by your eyes, as well. Also, my name is Ephraim Black.' Edward finished speaking for him, and the three slowly backed away from us.

"That was when we first met your ancestors. We left merely three years after that. I believe that is the end of that story. I would turn the time back to Sam, if he pleases." Carlisle said, sitting down once again. The youngest wolves looked completely shocked by how Carlisle acted, obviously expecting something different from the memories of vampires from the other pack members.

Sam told two stories after that, both where the pack had worked with the Cullens to protect everyone. I was amazed that Bella had been the cause of the first one, where the vampire Victoria was killed. I never thought that one person could cause so much trouble! I noticed Seth was looking at Edward, who was looking back at him. "During that fight, Seth helped Edward kill Victoria." Quil whispered in my ear. "She had brought another vampire with her to kill Bella, and Seth fought off that one while Edward handled Victoria. That was Seth's first kill, and the beginning of their friendship. Seth has always been the most accepting of the Cullens."

"Yes." Sam said, before starting into the second one. "Seth was one of the most helpful when it came to the Cullens and the next story." He then began the next story, starting with the reason for Bella's transformation; the birth of Aunt Nessie.

No one spoke after the story. We were all still speechless from the images of the Volturi and all those vampires. I had never known that so many existed! The Cullens helped to tell the story, putting in parts that Sam didn't know, or just extras that were important. All-in-all, it was a great story. "So? What did you think?" Quil asked me after it was over, the light conversations starting up again. "I thought it was amazing! I mean, I never thought that any of that stuff could actually happen!" I couldn't explain it any other way. Edward and Seth got up and walked somewhere else, and Bella came and sat right next to me, far enough for me to not feel cold. "Hi, Claire. Do you remember me?" She asked in her bell-like voice.

"No....Sorry." I said, trying to remember anything about her that was outside the stories.

"That's okay. The last time I saw you in person, you were only two years old! I don't think even Renesmée even remembers back that far!"

"Of course I do! I remember everything from the day I was born perfectly! You know, Mom, you could remind yourself that I'm half vampire. Your memory was one of the traits I inherited!" I just sat there. I had never really thought of Renesmée having a mom until after the story, but having Bella as her mom? They looked exactly the same age! "Bella really is her mother, Claire." Quil told me. "I remember seeing her through Jake's memories as just a tiny baby, only a few days old but still the size of a one year old."

A loud snarl and a sharp crack broke us all away from our conversations. We turned in time to see Edward and Seth break apart, Seth baring his teeth viciously while Edward crouched, ready to attack. Seth lunged, and Edward wrapped his arms around Seth's neck, throwing him backwards into the sand. He lurched up and lunged again, throwing Edward out into the water. The wolf coughed out a barking laugh as Edward charged up out of the water, dripping wet. No one could believe their eyes. How could those two fight?! They seemed almost like brothers! Edward kicked out Seth's legs, making him land on his back. Seth kicked out, connecting with Edward's chest. As Edward stumbled, Seth lunged and grabbed Edward's shoulder and head in his mouth, throwing him as far as he could.

Seth jumped after him, but his foot landed in a soft patch of sand, causing him to fall forward. He curved oddly, and then flew from his speed. He landed on the harder area of the beach with more rocks, his head hitting with a loud crack. He didn't move. "Seth!" Edward yelled, charging back to the wolf. But he wasn't a wolf anymore. Thankfully he was too far to see clearly, but he was human again, and I could tell that he was naked. I looked for Carlisle, but he was already over by Seth. Jacob ran over with Seth's shorts, which he quickly put on him as they carried him back to the fire.

All of this happened within a few short seconds, so most of us still hadn't recovered. "What....What just happened?" I asked Quil dumbly. I was one of those people.

"Seth got hurt. Badly." Quil said as he moved to stand next to him.

"Nessie!" Carlisle called. She was over in a flash, Jenna still in her arms. She squeezed in between Sam and Carlisle to get a better view. "What?"

"We need Jenna." He told her. _What?_ I thought, confused. What would Jenna be able to do?

"Jenna? Jenna, wake up sweety. We need you to help one of our friends." Aunt Renesmée said quietly. Jenna stirred, and then opened her eyes. "Whah momma?" She asked.

"Nessie, Seth's head is cracked and it won't close properly. He won't stop bleeding even with his werewolf healing until it is set right. Do you know what to have her do?"

"Yes, Carlisle. I'll show her.

I was very confused. What good was Jenna going to do? She was a two year old! Seth was bleeding to death, and they were consulting a two year old? What kind of doctor was he? I then noticed Edward standing right next to me. "Jenna has a very, very special ability. Her father is a werewolf, and her mother can impose thoughts onto other people. Her talent is a mix of the two; she can manipulate the healing of someone else's body. She takes the werewolf healing trait, and imposes it on someone else, controlling how it affects their body. What she is going to do, is force Seth's head to shift slightly, so the cracks are aligned in his skull. Then she is going to force it to heal perfectly. There won't even be a scar, and he gets to keep his hair. If he went to a hospital, he would have bled to death, and if not, he would be bald. We are very lucky that Jenna can do what she does, otherwise mine and Seth's game could have ended even worse than it did."

I just stared. I barely grasped what Edward had just said. _Jenna can heal people? Wow._ Emily then rushed past me with a bucket of water, which she used to clean Seth's bloody head. After the blood was gone, she threw the bucket of cold water on him. He shot up, coughing and spluttering, then fell back moaning. "Oh, my head hurts! What happened?"

"Jenna just saved your life." Sam said.

"Oh. Is she awake?" he asked, turning to find her. Her eyes were closed, a soft snore coming from her. "She is exhausted. She is still so young, her ability is very draining." Nessie explained. "Well, tell her I said 'thank you' when she wakes up." Seth said.

"I think it's time to wind down a bit. These last five minutes have had everyone on edge. Alright. Everyone spread out a bit if you want to lie down. Those who don't can go back to the big fire and talk." It was still burning higher than anyone's head, and several of the newer wolves went over there, along with all the vampires.

"Come on. Let's go grab our spot." Quil said quietly. I followed him down the beach a ways, and he threw a big blanket over the sand. We lay down, and I immediately felt drained. "What time is it?" I asked. "It's nearly two in the morning. I think it's time for some sleep." I turned my back to him, and felt his arms wrap around me. The cold that had crept in was immediately banished.

I was slipping into the darkness despite the fact that I was _sleeping with Quil_ (eek!), and I was gone while he was whispering 'goodnight' into my ear.

**Hope you liked it. Please Review!**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

**Gerik's POV**

I ran through the forest, leaving my last experiment behind. I had heard of Joham, of what he did, before he was killed by the Volturi. I became inspired by his work. I knew exactly how long everything took to occur, and I was ready, waiting. I was not going to make the same stupid mistakes that he made, leading them on to believe they were made to rule humans. Each had a gift when he made them, so they must all have gifts. Even the one child not made by him had a gift. I was entranced. No. They would not rule the humans, I would rule them. They would serve me whether they liked it, or not.

I had been running for close to a week, leaving my previous target behind me to ripen. I would return in close to two months to reap the rewards I had sown. The Volturi would not find out about me, as I left no trail behind me. There was nothing to lead them to me, no memories for that cursed Aro to follow. Everyone wanted to remember, so everyone had forgotten, and nobody could resist me.

I didn't know where I was at the moment, but I had found my next target. I watched as she sat on the beach, a very large human male curled around her protectively. He had better not be around, or he would have to go.

**Claire's POV**

I sat in my bedroom, doing some of my homework. I love spring break. It was only the second day, and I was half-way done with everything. I had done English yesterday, Math today, and then tomorrow would be the last day, Geography. Those were my only homework subjects, and I was home free for the next two weeks!

My mind wandered as I did the simple Trigonometry sums, automatically checking after I finished it. I normally listen to music as I do math, so my mind learned to wander as I solved the problems. I was good at math. I understood it, which is why I was able to think of Quil as I solved for the length of the tangent.

_Me and Quil, sitting on the beach, just his arm wrapped around me, nothing else. We sat, talked, and listened to the waves. His heart was so large that I could hear that too. My ear was resting on his chest, so I could hear each beat, large and slow._

"Claire!" my mother broke me out of my dream. I realized that I had fallen asleep. "Claire! Come down for dinner!" I lurched out of the seat, pulling off the paper that stuck to my face.

"Coming!" I yelled, stumbling down the stairs one at a time. By the time I got to my seat, I was awake enough to smell the food. "Meat loaf!" I exclaimed. I loved meat loaf. It always got me into a good mood, or kept me in one. I ate nearly half of the entire loaf, leaving the rest for my mom, dad and sister. I sat back in my seat, my stomach exploding.

I suddenly felt the need to walk it off. "Hey mom? I'm going to go down to the beach for a bit, walk off some of what I just ate. I think I might explode otherwise." She nodded, waving me away. I grabbed my jacket and walked out the door. I walked slowly, letting the food digest a bit so that I didn't cramp up.

I thought of Quil as I walked. He would have liked to come with me. I thought about calling him, but for a reason I couldn't explain, I didn't. I just didn't want to call him, even though I wanted him down here. _Strange. _I thought. _I always call Quil whenever I feel like it. Why not now?_ I decided to reach for my phone, but my hand wouldn't move. I tried moving it up to my hair, and it went willingly. It would not move to my pocket to grab my phone. _Okay...This is weird._

I was at the beach by this time, and I was just walking through the sand. I stopped moving. I had no clue why, but my legs didn't want to move forward. I could move around, spin in a circle, I just couldn't leave that spot. _Okay, what is going on with me?_ I wondered, becoming scared. "Hello, Claire." A soft, silky voice said from the nearby forest. I turned and I froze, terror gripping my stomach. A tall man walked out from the trees, his pale skin glinting softly. He was more beautiful than any human I had ever seen, which alerted me to what he was. _Vampire._ I thought, unable to make my voice work. "Come on, Claire. Let's hear you pretty little voice. Tell me what I am." He said. He lifted his fingers, and I felt my mouth move against my will, answering him firmly. "You're a vampire."

"Why, yes. Yes I am." He smiled, quoting a cheesy movie. "My, my. I am going to enjoy this, Claire." He moved his fingers in a calling gesture, and I felt my legs move towards him. _Stop!_ I screamed at them, trying futilely to run in the opposite direction. "You're going to want to drink blood in a few weeks. Now, come. Let's go have some fun..." he smiled sadistically, and waved his hand. My own raised itself up, and began to take off my shirt...

xXx

I don't know how long I lay in the forest, absolutely alone. I was unable to move, pain freezing my muscles; everything hurt. There wasn't a spot on my body, except perhaps my forehead, that was pain free. "Claire!" I heard a voice, infinitely far away. I couldn't focus on the voice. My thoughts were trapped in his last words, as I lay there on the cold ground:

_You will begin to want blood soon. Even if you don't, you had better start drinking it within a few weeks from now. You will not attempt to find me, and neither will any of your little friends; I have made sure of that. They will be unable to do anything that could lead them to me, no matter what it is. You will begin to grow, your stomach expanding far faster than normal. You won't abort it, either. None will be able to carry on with that course of action, anyway. If you are lucky, you will survive the birth. There is one example of such a feat: The girl, Bella. She may be able to help you through this, but I wouldn't count on it._ He said, a chilling smile marring his beautiful face before he raced away. His face could never be called beautiful again. His deeds had ruined any beauty I thought he had, making his perfect vampire face the vilest and most hideous thing I had ever seen.

"Carlisle, she has been...." I couldn't hear what he said after that. I believed it to be Edward. He was picking my thoughts out of my head, giving them to everyone to hear.

A searing pain shot through my back and shoulders as cold arms propped me up. I screamed, and the arms immediately set me down. The pain faded slowly, forcing them to leave me on the ground. "Claire!" A different voice called. Blazing hot arms wrapped around me this time, causing a sharp pain once again. Not as bad, but bad. The heat began to numb my back and shoulders after a few seconds. "Quil..." I said weakly.

"Claire, shush. Everything is going to be okay. Renesmée is on her way with Jenna. You'll be fine.

"Who did this to you?" he asked as I tried opening my eyes. That was painless as well, but still very difficult. "A vampire." Edward answered for me. _Thank you._ I thought. _Will you answer all the questions for me?_ I thought at him.

"I am going to answer the questions that you have for her. She is in no condition to speak right now." He said, and then went on telling everyone what happened.

"I am going to kill that... that..."

"Quil, back off!" Someone shouted, the hot arms leaving me instantly, followed by an ear-splitting crack a distance off. "Quil..." I muttered. I felt the hot arms wrap around me again.

"I'm so sorry, Claire. I am going to kill him. I am going to rip his arms off and feed them to him before he dies. I am going to-"

"Quil!" Edward shouted.

"Sorry. " He muttered, wrapping his arms around me tighter, holding himself there.

"Jasper, why are you still here-"

"I can't go, Edward." He cut in immediately. "I just can't move if it will lead me to him. I can't even smell if it will pick up his scent!" Jasper was freaking out now, and waves of anger and stress were washing all around everyone. "Jasper!" Edward shouted. The waves lessened, but didn't disappear.

"I can't go after him either!" Sam shouted.

"Me neither!"

"Or me!"

"What is going on?" Someone shouted, worry clear in her voice; Esme.

"I am fine." Bella said. "I can go after him. Maybe it's something purely mental. I mean, I can smell, I can walk after him. Shall I go?" She asked, her voice much more calm than the others.

"No!" shouted Edward.

"Yes!" Quil screamed at the same instant.

"Edward, I'll be fine. Make sure that Jenna gets this _entire_ thing figured out. Don't let _anything_ remain imperfect." She said, and then there was silence.

"Bella!" Edward screamed, groaning as he lurched up, only to fall back down.

_They will be unable to do anything that could lead them to me, no matter what it is. _I remembered him saying. _Including follow Bella._ I thought at him.

Edward screamed, wordless and feral. His cold form was instantly too far to feel, and a deafening crack shattered the forest.

"From what I gather, he is similar to a puppet master. Edward, you have read that series, 'Wheel of Time'? This feels similar to _Compulsion_ the ability to render people useless to what they want. We all would love to race after and dismember him, but he has laid the compulsion, making our desires utterly pointless. We can to nothing to follow him.

"I believe that Bella is able to, because the compulsion is a mental affliction, albeit an extremely potent one. That is the best excuse I can come up with, although it is stretching the rules considerably."

"I don't care!" Edward screamed. It was hurting my ears. That hurt my head, which caused the rest of my body to hurt. "Edward, shut up. You're hurting Claire." Quil said quietly in between the gap in words. A wave of calm so intense it was nearly tangible washed through the area.

"Carlisle!" a new voice called out. "Jenna is here, and she already knows what to do. She just has to see her to get the full idea." I felt a new body sit down next to me, cooler than Quil, but warmer than anything else. _Renesmée._ I thought. A new hand touched my face, and a searing pain shot through my body. Everywhere. Even my forehead. I had never felt such intense pain, but it receded quickly. First from my head, working its way down my body relatively soon. The pain finally left my toes, and nothing hurt anymore. I opened my eyes, seeing Quil staring down at me intensely.

"Momma, there is something in her tummy! I can't get it out." Said Jenna's tiny voice, high with fear. "It won't listen to me momma! I tried telling it to get better and leave, but it won't listen! I can't...can't...night." Her voice drifted off, too tired to remain awake now. A gentle snore was the only thing interrupting the silence. "Can't...can't get it out?" Said Quil shakily, his voice nearly as soft as Jenna's snore. "Carlisle...What...What does that mean?" He asked slowly, his voice trembling. "It means, Quil." Carlisle started. "It means that Claire...Claire is pregnant."

The hot arms left me and, far away, an inhuman roar shattered the night, followed by the sounds of trees and earth being torn apart.

**I hope this is okay with everyone. I know the theme is really dark, which is why it is rated T, for now. I guess all the other reasons haven't really happened yet, but I will keep it clean enough for T.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Wow. I didn't realize how dark this was. I hope it still counts as T rating, as I haven't included any specifics, but I am not too sure. I think that this will be the worst chapter in terms of darkness, but I can't make any promises.**

Chapter 4

**Bella's POV**

I raced through the night, following the scent of the vampire who had defiled Claire. _At least when I gave birth to Renesmée, it was my choice._ I thought grimly. _Claire is being forced into this. She doesn't get a choice. _ I could feel something tugging at the back of my brain, deterred by my shield. _I wonder what that could be?_ I had been feeling it for the past several hours. _Probably around the time Claire was...attacked._ I couldn't think the real word that described what had happened. It held too much pain. _It must be whatever is holding everyone else back._ That was the only explanation.

I raced for several more hours, stopping when the scent entered a small town up in Canada. The sun was just rising, still to dim to affect my skin. _He will be hiding somewhere. He will have to wait until night to leave, but so will I._ I remained in the forest, settling in until the sun began to fall behind me.

One by one, as night fell, the lights turned off in each of the houses. I sprinted down the small hill, entering the town, far too fast for human eyes to see in the dark. I traced his scent through the town, stopping at one building then leaving. I exited through the opposite side of the town, charging through the forest. This scent was fresher than the one before the town. He had only left a few hours ago. _Probably walking, by how widespread this scent is._ That meant that I could catch up to him before morning, unless he had started running. He had no reason to, however. _He has no idea that I'm coming. That pull is getting stronger._

My thoughts were interrupted by my phone buzzing in my pocket. "Yes?" I answered it. The voice on the other line surprised me. "Can vampires still think consciously and speak with their heads detached?" Claire asked.

"Ummmm. Claire? Does anyone know what you're planning? This could be very dangerous."

"I have faith that you'll be able to protect me, or anyone nearby." She argued. "I want you to bring me his head. I want to kill him myself for what he did to me." Her voice was low and dangerous. _How can I deny her this? He defiled her! He deserves any kind of torture she is able to dish out. I will stand by and help if she wants._ "Of course, Claire. I'll find a way to keep everyone safe, and then I will return with it. I will call you when I am back in Washington. Don't worry, Claire. This has happened before, I am confident that you'll be absolutely fine."

"Bella." She said, her voice now worried and scared. "Bella, I can't even speak about aborting it. Carlisle tried suggesting it, and he froze up as soon as the 'a' left his mouth. Bella, I have to go through with this. None of us have a choice."

I was speechless. That must be what this vampires talent was: complete manipulation. He was forcing them to go through with this, and none of them could do anything about it! _I am going to kill him as torturously as I know how, then I will bring her his head to do what she wishes._

"Claire? I am going to kill him as painfully as I know how. He will suffer for doing this to you. And don't worry. I only didn't survive birth because we waited too long, and no one knew what to do. The same thing won't happen to you."

"Thank you." She said, hanging up.

I barely put my phone away, when his scent hit me like a baseball bat. I froze where I stood, staring at where he...rested. A small girl, probably close to Claire's age, lay next to him. "You monster." I muttered. His head shot up at my voice, clearly surprised. The girl turned her head to me weakly and said, "Help...Me." She was in massive agony. I was going to kill him.

"Now, don't do anything dramatic." He said, raising his fingers. He closed his fist, and my arms snapped to my side. _What?!_ _How is he doing this? Unless...this isn't a mental thing. That must be it. Time to turn the tables._ I focused myself as Zafrina had taught me. We had been exploring several possibilities in my shielding ability. I concentrated solely on his face, and then extended my shield towards him. Just before it reached him, I forced it to flip, inside out. I slid it around his head, into it. It constricted part of his brain, and he fell limp. The force holding me immediately disappeared, leaving me free to do as I pleased. The pull still tugged at my shield though.

I stalked towards him, pulling my shield tighter around his brain, constricting less of it. Awareness returned to his eyes, and he looked up at me, terrified. Before he could do more than blink, I was on top of his chest, his arms shattered. He screamed, struggling uselessly. "I am much stronger than you. You are going to die, painfully, and slowly." I told him, my voice full of hate, venom filling my mouth. "And yet...You will live. Only for a few more days. I stretched my shield over a smaller portion of his brain, and stood up. He remained still, his eyes the only parts moving. I grabbed a small branch and, stripping the branches, I began to rub quickly. As soon as it began glowing, I held it away and blew gently. I then spit on it, the venom catching flames instantly. I walked slowly towards him. I ripped up dirt, covering his knees with it, to prevent the flames from spreading. I then set to work on torturing this sick, twisted excuse for a vampire.

xXx

I had to ignite three more branches before I finished torturing him. All that remained of this evil creature was his head, howling in pain, his eyes clamped tightly shut. I walked over to the girl, still unconscious on the ground. "Excuse me? Can you please wake up?" I asked her. I gently slapped her cheeks and her eyes slowly opened. She jerked away from me, screaming. "Please! I am not going to hurt you, I promise." I stared into her eyes with my golden ones, glad I had just fed two days ago. "Please." She whispered. "Please, just kill me. I know what he is; I don't want to give birth to his...His monster. Please. He told me that I taste good, just please, don't make it too painful." She begged weakly, clearly in pain from the monster called Gerik.

"I won't hurt you. Do you have any family? Friends?" I asked. I didn't want to kill her if I could help it. "No. I live all alone. I have for years. No one knows I exist. That is why he chose me. Please. I know that you are like him. Just please kill me quickly." She begged once again, in tears.

"I really, really don't want to kill you. Would you prefer to become like us?"

"No!" she screamed. I then remembered the wolves' pact, that it wouldn't have worked anyways. "No, just please. Please kill me. I know I will not survive this, and I know there is nothing that can prevent me from getting pregnant with...It. He told me everything. Just please. Be quick." She said, extending her head up, revealing her neck. "I promise, it won't hurt at all." I told her, giving in to her wishes. I knew exactly how she felt. I remembered James torturing me, not far from what Gerik had done to this poor girl. "I am going to suffocate you, but you will just feel tired. Go to sleep." I told her. I then wrapped my shield around her brain. I was very glad Carlisle had made Edward and I go to medical school, majoring in neuroscience. I cut off her nerves and automatic reflexes, such as her breathing. She would feel nothing as she died, exactly as though she had just gone to sleep. Her heart stopped as well, and her eyes drooped quickly. "Thank...you." she breathed as her mind shut down. It was the easiest, most desirable death anyone could wish for. "I'm sorry." I whispered.

I set up a pile of wood, throwing Gerik's burnt remains in the middle, her body above his separated by a thick blanket of wood and brush. I started another branch on fire, slipping it into his bed. The dry brush and branches immediately caught fire, extending all the way up to the sky, quickly enveloping the dead girl's body.

Gerik had already told me every single girl he had violated in an attempt to get me to stop burning him, piece by miserable piece. I would go to these girls, and most likely give them the same death. Possibly help them through it. If I was too late, I would have Nahuel come and raise them, teaching them his and his aunt's lifestyle.

Gerik mouthed at me silently, unable to speak without lungs. _Why did you do this to me?_ I read from his lips. "You are a monster, and the last girl you defiled wants revenge. I am bringing you to her, so that she can do what she wants. I can guarantee, it will be much more painful that what I did to you. I will make sure of it."

xXx

**Claire's POV**

I waited miserably while Bella hunted down the monster that left me in the woods the other night. Quil had been with me every step of the way, comforting me when no one else could. I was sure that I could feel a small bump in my stomach, even though nobody could see it, not even the vampires.

I heard my phone ring, and I lunged for it, picking it up quickly. "Bella?" I asked, very fidgety. I had a plan in mind for that monster. Gerik, he had told me. Gerik would suffer for the rest of eternity. "Claire. I have just passed Seattle. I will be in La Push before nightfall."

"Thank you, Bella." I said, hanging up the phone.

"Are you sure that you want to do this? Get revenge on this monster?" Quil asked me. "You are better than this, Claire." He told me, trying to persuade me away from torturing him.

"I am not going to hurt him, Quil. He is just going to suffer for all of eternity. I promise, he will feel no more pain than what Bella has already inflicted." I assured him. Gerik would feel no pain, but he would suffer for eternity. My plan would ensure that.

Bella arrived that night at around nine thirty. Every single member of both packs, along with all of the Cullens, were crammed into my house. Bella brought out a strange shaped bag, and then pulled it back, revealing Gerik's head. I jumped slightly, realizing that she had done exactly as I had asked. "What do you want with me?" Edward said, acting as Gerik's mouth piece. "What have you done to my abilities?" There was no intonation as Edward spoke, too full of hate to bother.

"You are going to suffer for what you did to me." I told him. "But Bella, really, what did you do to his powers?" I asked, curious.

"I flipped my shield inside out, so that it would keep everything _in, _instead of keeping it _out._ So I wrapped the inverted portion around the part of his brain that controls his powers, and now that part of his brain is cut off from the rest. That is how I could kill him so easily, as he was utterly powerless when I cut off his nerve synapses. He could no longer move." She said grimly, obviously disgusted by the creature in her hands.

"Gerik, I am not going to hurt you. I am certain Bella has put you through enough pain." His eyes lit up at my words, but then immediately fell. "What are you going to do then? Kill me?" Edward spoke, asking the question. Bella stared at me, confused at my thought processes.

"No, Gerik. I can't show enough mercy to kill you for everything you have done. I am going to need Bella's help, as she is the only one able to keep him under control. Okay?" I asked her. She nodded and I told her my plan. "I want you to find the heaviest, most dense material on this planet, and wrap him in it entirely, so that no matter what it will never come undone. Then, I want you to swim down to the deepest part of the deepest ocean, and bury him there. The pressure should be enough to keep him down there forever, but I want the material too, just in case. Can you do that for me?" I asked her. She nodded, a small, grim smile on her lips. Quil just sat there, his eyes on the floor.

Gerik stared at me, his eyes terrified. "But I will spend all of eternity down there. I will never be free, and I will have nothing to do, or move with down there. And it is cold, even for us." Edward spoke, hate and disdain filling his voice. "That is the nicest thing you can ask for at this point, Gerik." Carlisle told him, even his normally cool voice dripping with hate. "I will go tonight." Bella said.

"Claire." Edward spoke, his voice still emotionless. "If you do this, you will never be free from my compulsion, none of you will. You will still be forced to bear my child, whether it manages to kill you or not." Edward's voice was dripping with hate so intense, Jasper had to leave. I couldn't imagine how that must have felt to him. "You're a liar, Gerik." Edward spoke in his voice. "None of us will ever be free. It doesn't matter whether you live, or die. The compulsion will stay, unless you release it.

"No, you are a mind reader. You know what I am thinking, and you know that the compulsion I laid was permanent. It cannot be reversed." Gerik spoke again. "You are worthless, Gerik. You will suffer forever, I promise you this, for making Claire go through with this, with no exits." Edward stormed out of the room, waves of hate tangible even to me, a powerless human.

"Bella, you don't need to worry about finding anything to keep him down there." Carlisle said. "I have been to the deepest part of the ocean, and I almost became stuck. There are no currents down that deep. Nothing moves, no life lives. The pressure is so high that I barely managed to resurface. He cannot move as it is, so he will be trapped forever."

"I'm going with her." Emmett said. I had forgotten about almost everyone but Carlisle and Bella, and of course Quil. "If it was that hard for you, it will be even worse for her. She is weaker than you, but I am much stronger. I shouldn't have any problems, and it will give me the chance to help out my little baby sister." Emmett said, smiling.

"Thank you, Emmett." Bella said. "Can we go right now? I don't want to hold this thing any longer than necessary." She said, holding the head at arm's length. Gerik struggled uselessly, only able to move his mouth to any effect. He barely shifted a hare with all that struggling, so I knew he would be unable to move at the bottom of the ocean. "Sure thing, Bells." He said, exiting the house.

"Thank you, Bella. I'm sorry I am making you do this. Be safe." I told her as she left for the bottom of the deepest ocean.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

A month had passed since Gerik had been destroyed. My stomach hurt like crazy. I sat on the Cullens' couch, curled slightly around my swollen abdomen. Quil never left my side. Now, he stared at my stomach, hand resting lightly on my arm. "Do you need anything, Claire?" he asked me, once again showing his constant concern. "No, I'm okay." I answered for the third time in the last ten minutes. "Quil, aren't you hungry? I don't think I've seen you eat for nearly two days." He had stayed right next to me, never leaving for any reason. I felt him, even as I slept, right below my head, always standing guard for when I awoke.

"Quil, absolutely nothing will happen for at least the next few hours." Alice said, coming down the stairs. "In fact, she is going to crash again in about five minutes. She's too tired to stay awake much longer. Go eat."

"Or, do you want me to make you something, Quil?" Esme called from the kitchen. "I've got all the ingredients for spaghetti, if you want? Or eggs, burritos, nachos...?" Esme continued to list off different foods she could cook up for Quil so that he didn't have to leave.

"Whatever." He said, still staring at me, a mix of pain and love in his eyes. "Are you sure you don't need anything, Claire?" he asked for the fourth time.

I just nodded. "Alice...was right." Said in the middle of a yawn. "I am going to crash in a few seconds. I can't keep my eyes open."

"Good night." He said softly.

**Quil POV**

Her eyes closed and she immediately started to snore softly. The sound was like music ringing through my ears, but her form could never be the masterpiece it used to be, with that lump deforming her body. My mind flashed back to the night we found her after that leech Gerik had gotten to her. I nearly exploded right then and there, kept together only by my concern for her safety. She didn't move at all until Jenna came and healed her. _And yet, the little girl couldn't heal her completely._ I thought, pain coursing through me once again. _None of us could do anything. That evil bloodsucker prevented that quite well._ Even though Bella was perfectly able to perform an abortion, and he could not stop her, the rest of us did. That was another part of his curse. We were unable to do anything that could harm the child; including allowing Bella to do the abortion.

"Quil, here's your food." Esme said, kneeling next to me to set a tray down. The smell of spaghetti wafted up to my nose. I felt no desire to eat, all joy leeched out of my life with Claire's state. I forced myself to eat, however. If I left the plate untouched, not only would it hurt Esme, Claire would undoubtedly find out. It would hurt her to see that I was starving myself. That would kill me more than lack of food ever could.

"Hey, Quil." Seth called from the doorway. He had been hanging around a lot lately.

"Hey, Seth. You need something?" I asked. My voice was flat.

"Nah, I just came around to say 'hi' to everyone, maybe get some food. Quil, you should really go walk around a bit. You are totally dead. Trust me, Claire will be fine for now. If you don't trust me, at least trust Alice. She said that nothing would happen." He had knelt down to my level now. "Please, Quil? It's eating us all up, seeing you like this. It will all work out, somehow."

This was why Seth was my favourite brother. He was very convincing, while being sympathetic at the same time. "Ok. I'll come out for a little." I said, standing up. Seth grabbed my arm and pulled me out the door faster than anyone I had ever seen. "Seth, what's up?" I asked. I noticed a strange look on his face, as though he was about to be sick. He only stopped once we had cleared the trees. "I'll show you." He said, stripping down. He transformed immediately, barely putting his shorts in the pouch at his ankle.

I followed a bit more slowly, watching him dance anxiously from one foot to another. _So that is what we look like when we're nervous._ I thought as I fell down, fur exploding from my body.

_So? What's up, Seth?_

_Watch. _He said as images and feelings began to flow into my mind.

_I walked in the door, seeing Quil's dead face, staring straight ahead at a sleeping Claire. _Wow, he looks bad._ I thought sadly, thinking of ways to cheer him up. A plan had just formulated when I felt a pull in their direction. _Strange..._ "Hey, Quil." I said, announcing my presence. "Hey, Seth, you need something?" He replied. _He really is torn up about this. _I suggested that he come out for a little, when I felt a sharp jerk at my stomach, pulling towards Claire. _What is that?_ I wondered frantically. I felt an incredible urge to just go sit next to Quil and stroke her stomach. _What is wrong with me?_ "Ok. I'll come out for a little." Quil said, interrupting my thoughts. As I got up to leave, pulling him with me, I felt an incredible reluctance to leave. I stepped over the threshold and a tug, close to physical pain, tried ripping me back to Claire, before fading entirely._

Seth still felt an urge to go back there, even now. _What is that?_ I asked. He hadn't imprinted, that was for sure, but it felt like an echo of it, similar in some way. _We should ask Sam, or Jacob._ He said, echoing my thoughts. _Sure, I'll call Jacob, you get Sam._ He raced off, feeling distressed as he ran farther from Claire.

I changed back and walked back to the house. I looked in at Claire as I closed the door and, sure enough, she was still snoring lightly. I went to the phone and, dialling Jacob's number, put it up to my ear. "Hello?" He answered his phone quickly.

"Jake, we've got a really weird problem." I told him, trying to infuse my voice with some emotion besides worry for Claire.

"What's up, Quil? And who's 'we'?"

"'We', is me and Seth. He is feeling drawn to Claire, almost like a weak form of imprinting. He felt a really sharp tug towards her when he walked in the door today, and just wanted to stroke her stomach, for no reason whatsoever. He showed me what it was like, and it really did feel like he almost imprinted on her." I explained, my voice losing any cool it had.

Jake didn't say anything. "Jake? You there?"

"Yeah, hold on a minute, Quil." Jake said, his voice shaky. "Quil? I need to go. I'll talk to you later."

"Jake, wait!" I called, but he had already hung up. _What is that about?_ I wondered.

I heard Carlisle and Edward walking through the front door, talking about Claire. "She is approximately in her twenty-third week, if what Bella went through was anything to go by. Edward, as soon as you hear the child's thoughts, we have to get it out. It should be ready by that time, and we don't want to wait as long as we did with Bella." I could barely understand what he said. Obviously Claire's pregnancy, but dropping out of high school before learning about it was not the best thing I could have done.

"Bella's showed intelligence about thirty weeks in, so it should be coming up soon."

"Let's just hope it's soon enough. We should have Renesmée try to talk to it, get it to respond earlier." That sounded like a good idea, but wouldn't Claire just see, instead of the kid? Could Renesmée do that through her skin? I didn't think she could.

"Carlisle." Claire called from the front room. I raced in there and slid up next to her, on the floor. "Do you need something, Claire?" I asked gently

"Yeah. I think it's time for it to eat again." She said, obviously hating her current diet.

"Right here, Claire." Carlisle said, handing her a white cup with a straw. I could smell the blood, but the cup was not for my benefit. Her face warped into a grimace as she sucked up big mouthfuls, swallowing loudly.

I had begun to stare off into space, tuning out the slurping noise, when a sharp cry of pain brought my attention back to Claire. "Ouch!" The cup of blood nearly dropped as her hand shot to her stomach. "Claire! What's wrong?" I asked, completely focused on her.

"It's...he's just stretching, I think. I am smaller than Bella, so I don't think it has as much room." She stated, grasping the cup normally and sitting back on the couch. I sat back uneasily, waiting for the next cry. It was tearing me apart. We were supposed to protect our imprints from anything that could cause pain, yet I could do nothing for this. Gerik's manipulations overpowered my need for Claire's safety. _Stupid, sadistic vampire with his stupid, sadistic power. _I grumbled silently as I lay back to try to rest.

**Seth's POV**

"Sam?" I asked. "Sam, did you hear me? Do you understand the problem?"

"Yeah. I think you're right. Jacob called me a few minutes before you did, telling me the same thing. We decided we would discuss it more fully later on, after all the humans are asleep." He replied, answering my question about Claire's kid.

"Alright. I'll talk to you later, Sam." I said, hanging up the phone.

I walked back out into my front yard and started heading back to the Cullens' house. I still felt the pull that came from there, drawing me in like a whirlpool does; slowly, inevitably.

I changed into my wolf form quickly, breaking into a run. _Hey, Seth._ Embry thought. He was busy patrolling up near Port Angeles right now, his mind wandering as he ran familiar routes. _Hey, Embry. What's new? Did you find anything, lately?_

_Nah, I've only been out here for a few hours. Jared had just left, but he didn't have anything either._

_It's been really quiet for a while now. Well, at least until Gerik showed up. I guess he kind of ruins the record._ I mused, recalling the several years we had had without any non-Cullen vampiric activity.

_You headed back over to the Cullens' place?_ He asked, seeing the woods flash by through my eyes in a familiar blur. _Yeah. Did Jacob tell you about what happened?_ I asked him, expecting his answer.

_Yeah, he did. I think that it is pretty similar to imprinting, but I can't exactly say for sure. What are you going to do? I don't think that you liking Claire would go over too well with Quil._ He thought, imagining me trying to kiss Claire and then Quil ripping my head off. _Nice._ I commented.

I had just broken through the clearing, stopping at the edge of the trees. _Later._ I said, shifting back to human. I pulled on my shorts and walked in the front door to find everyone asleep. "Well, this makes it difficult to talk much." I muttered, watching Claire's breathing, Quil's matching it perfectly. _Weird._ I thought.

"Hey, Seth." Edward whispered from upstairs. "Come on up. I want to talk to you about something." He said, walking back upstairs. I followed quickly, stepping out onto the third floor landing to see his head pop back into his room. "What's up, Ed?" I asked.

"Alright. I have a question, and I think you should be able to answer it, seeing as you live inside Quil's head." He said, building up to something big. _Just spit it out!_ I thought, anxious for whatever the big question was. "Well, I was wondering, how would Quil take it, if Claire had to become a vampire?"


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

**Claire POV**

"What does that mean?" I asked, my voice a much higher pitch than normal. _Claire, there might be a problem with the baby, and if there is, it will not be good for you. _Edward's words rang through my ears. I wished Quil was here with me; this conversation was going to end very badly, probably for me. "Where is Quil?" I asked, my voice shaking already.

"Um...Quil has...stepped out for a little. We already told him, and he didn't...didn't take it very well."

"Just tell me!" I screeched. The waiting was far worse than anything I could imagine, especially knowing that Quil had reacted badly. _Well, there's a shocker. Quil overreacted to something that could hurt you._ I thought bitterly as I waited for Edward to tell me.

"Okay. Claire, when Bella was in her...well, the equivalent of her third trimester, which is where you are, I could hear the baby's thoughts. However, I don't even want to get near your baby's thoughts, so I have no access to know. No matter how hard I try, I can't bring myself to listen.

"Claire, this is very dangerous to your health, as we have no idea as to how far along you child is in terms of development. We are unable to remove it now, as there is still a small possibility it could get hurt, and Gerik's compulsion won't allow any chances. If I am unable to get myself to get a reading, then the same thing that happened to Bella may happen to you." He continued, ending in dead silence.

No one spoke, the silence completed even by nature; not a bird or cricket chirped anywhere. I could not even make a single coherent thought. Images of Bella as a vampire kept flashing through my mind, and my imagination supplied others; my stomach ripping itself open and the creature climbing out and wreaking havoc on me, Edward being forced to change me into the beautiful stone creatures they had become. My mind then thought of Quil. _Would he still love me?_ Was my first real thought in nearly a minute. "Claire, I am sure that he will still love you, even if that unspeakable event occurs." Edward stated matter-of-factly, reading the question from my mind. _But, I'll be a vampire, and I'll smell horrible, and I'll want to kill him! _I thought, my heart rate picking up double time at the image of me lunging at Quil and him just sitting there while I tried to kill him. He would never even fight back.

Tears broke into my eyes, blurring my vision of everything._ Quil._ I fell onto my side in a full-out crying fit. I knew that it wasn't a result of my pregnancy mood swings; this was pure, justifiable misery.

Hot arms suddenly wrapped around me, pulling me into a tight embrace. I exploded, bawling even harder. "Claire, shhhh. Everything is going to be okay." He told me, but I heard the flat note at the end. My tears did slow down, however, comforted by his mere presence. I heard Edward whisper something to him, too quiet and fast for me to catch.

I suddenly felt myself being lifted, then repositioned on Quil's lap. He gently pulled my head up to look at him, but I kept my eyes down, unable to look into his face. "Claire, please look at me." He whispered quietly, a pout in his voice. I looked up to his face, dead serious, and couldn't look away. It was as if a giant claw was holding my eyes up, staring into his. "Claire, I love you. I promise, that no matter what happens now, too much has happened for that to change. Even if you do...Even..." He struggled over the phrase for about five seconds then gave up. "Even if that does happen, I will still love you forever, and stay by your side forever." He said, and the sincerity with which he said it made me believe him. _Even if I become cold and dead and my organs freeze over, Quil will still love me._ The thought calmed my crying and I regained a measure of control.

"I don't mean to throw a damper in the works, but I really think that Claire needs to sleep. All this stress can't be good for her." Edward said. "She needs to save her energy, since we are almost out of blood. Carlisle and Esme went out to get more, and Alice and Jasper should be on their way back with about a days-worth right now. I expect them in a few hours."

"Sleep now, Claire." Quil said against my ear. My eyes drooped immediately, exhausted. Quil began to sing me my old lullaby, sending me away even faster. He had just started the chorus, and I was out like a light.

**Quil POV**

I merely sat on the couch, staring at the beautiful girl on my lap. Her features smooth in sleep, playing her out to be the laid back, happy person I had known for 15 years. I reflected back on those fifteen years as she slept, too far gone to hear the talking from the other room.

Before I could listen in, Seth burst into the room. "Hey, everybody! How's Claire?" he said loudly, not seeing her asleep. I heard heavy running coming from outside, near the road. _Who's coming at this time?_ I wondered, looking at the clock that said it was three in the morning.

Everyone was shocked out of whatever they had been doing by a blood-curdling scream, followed by loud cracking. "Edward! Claire!" Alice screamed as she raced inside, not even stopping to open the door. It splintered into thousands of pieces as she grabbed Claire and ran upstairs, four vampires and two werewolves following closely.

"Alice, get the clean-rags, Jasper, get out of the house." Edward called, in full doctor mode. "Rosalie, get the scalpel and help me like last time. Emmett, start getting venom into a syringe to inject immediately. Get a few of them."

"What about us?" Seth asked, barging into the room as Edward set her on an operating table.

"Make sure that she stays conscious. Quil, do you want this? Will you be okay with her as a vampire? Answer now. Three." He began counting down.

_I don't know! I love Claire to death, but will it be the same when she's trying to kill me?_

_Yes._ I answered myself. "Do it." I told him as Rosalie returned, a shiny scalpel in her hand. I jumped up to the table, right above Claire's head, where Seth was gently slapping her, trying to make her open her eyes. "Claire!" I screamed, her eyes popping open. "Quil! Ah! H-h-help me!" she screamed as Rosalie brought the scalpel down on her stomach. "Claire! Breathe, Claire. Breathe!" I shouted, keeping her eyes trained on my face. She sucked in air quickly, gusting it right back out, screaming. "Quil! Stop the pain! It hurts!"

I grabbed her hand and she squeezed tightly, tighter than I thought was possible for her, or any normal human, causing me to wince lightly. "Morphine!" Edward yelled.

"NO!" a female voice screamed from below. "No, do not give her morphine! It doesn't help at all, it just makes things worse!" Bella screamed.

A metallic ripping screeched through the air, cutting off all other sound, apart from Claire's screams. A high pitched whine called through the air as the screech was cut off. Seth gasped. "Edward, give her to me." He said, cutting Rosalie off in her attempts to get a kid. She growled, but Seth ignored her as he took the girl form Edwards arms. "Claire! Breathe!" I shouted as her eyes began to close again. "I can't...I can't, I'm too...too tired." She said, her eyes drifting closed again.

"Claire!" I yelled as loud as I could just as Edward stabbed a thick syringe, all silver, straight into her heart. "If it stops, do CPR. Her heart needs to be kept pushing blood through. He then stabbed a second syringe into her stomach, then one in each leg. Claire barely reacted.

"Claire. Please. You have to live through this. Keep your heart beating long enough for the venom to work." She whimpered weakly at my voice, her eyes trying to open. Her heart was becoming more fluttery, pumping much more weakly. I decided to take matters into my own hands, standing and pushing down on her chest very hard. I felt her blood pulse beneath my hands; it was thick, almost like syrup sliding through her veins. _That is why it was so weak._

"Claire, do you remember when...I was hurt very badly? You...were thirteen." I said between pumps. Her eyes fluttered weakly, trying to stay awake. Her head bobbed up and down the slightest fraction, almost imperceptible. "Claire, you were the only reason I got better. You came to me, and made me promise that I wouldn't leave you. I promised, and now, I am demanding you to make the same promise: Don't leave me. You kept me here against all the rules, and I need you to do the same for me. Please." I begged, pressing my lips to her head. "Please." I begged again, bringing them to meet hers. She gave me an unexpected response, turning her head slightly to make it a bit better.

Her heart exploded then. It picked up all the slack I had been dropping, racing so fast it sounded like a hummingbird. I could hear the blood being forced through her veins faster than they ever had before, spreading the copious amounts of venom through her whole system.

She screamed in that same instant. "Edward! What's wrong with her?" I shouted, looking over at him for the first time in five minutes. He was now sitting in a chair, resting his head in his hands. "It's fine, Quil. The venom attacked her heart far harder than anyone had expected. You could take a sledgehammer to it now, and it wouldn't skip a beat. Quil, are you sure that her as a vampire is what you want?" he asked. She was screaming, and Bella had just entered the room.

"Yes." I told him. It really was. Even though she should never be subjected to this, I could never imagine a life without her, and we now had a child, so I would be unable to leave this world with her. I noticed Bella staring at her, a look of deep concentration marring her normally perfect face. "Edward, go get Renesmée. We're going to tell Claire all about what to expect in her dreams these two days."

I noticed then that Claire was no longer screaming. She looked perfectly peaceful, despite lying in a pool of her own blood. "Bella, what did you do to her?" I asked, horrified at the thoughts I had running through my head. "I blocked off her pain receptors. Now she just has a headache, but that is something that she can sleep through. She doesn't feel the burning now. I think I found our vampire morphine." She said, smiling lightly.

Edward ran in then, Renesmée following closely. Jacob tailed in after her, worry distorting his face. Bella explained how to tell Claire everything. Renesmée put her hand on Claire's head and closed her eyes.

"Quil, Claire is fine now. We need to go have a little talk now, about the future and your family." Jake said, his face now concerned, but not for Claire. "Quil, Seth needs to talk to you. Now." He said as he walked out the door. I followed slowly, glancing back at Claire every step. "Go, she'll be fine." Bella said, waving me off. "Seth needs you, and so does your baby."

I walked down the stairs, looking around as I stepped off the landing. I saw Rosalie glaring at Seth, Emmett holding her on his lap. Jasper was nowhere to be seen, and Alice was probably with him. Jake was next to Seth, who was holding something in his arms, his back to me.

"Seth? You needed to talk to me about something?" I asked. He turned around and I saw that he was holding a small baby girl wrapped in a pink blanket, fast asleep. Her black hair curled around her face, framing the most beautiful face I had ever seen. I was unable to even care that half of its features came from the evil creature who took advantage of people. She was close to a foot long, and her lips were pressed together in a firm pout, obviously dreaming something.

"Yeah. Quil? You know how we have been brothers for over fifteen years?" Seth started. I looked up at him, and saw the fear in his eyes, then returned to look at the child. I looked back at him and saw him looking at her _in the same way that I looked when I saw Claire for the first time._ I realized. I then thought back to earlier, when he couldn't keep away from the house for more than a few hours for patrols. He even slept here. _"_Oh gosh." I said. "You imprinted."

**A/N: I would love to thank Rosybud for the idea of the promise. Her story 'Against the Pull of Gravity' chapter 9 had a similar memory scene in it. I thank her profusely for supplying me with an idea to keep Claire around.**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"_Oh gosh." I said. "You imprinted."_

It was very obvious now. I just sat there, staring at Seth. "Do you have a name for her?" I asked dumbly. His face lit up like a kid's on Christmas morning at my approval. "How about Arya?" he asked. I looked at her, reminded of the elf from Eragon. The dark hair, the perfect features, her soon to be perfectly slim body, all screamed elfin at me. The name Arya made sense. "Yeah, Arya is good. I think we should wait to see what Claire thinks though."

I then thought of the girl upstairs, the girl that I loved more than my life, becoming a rock, cold and hard. I desperately hoped that she would be like Bella, retaining most of her personality. _If not, I can wait until she does. I've waited fifteen years; I can wait a few more for her to return to normal._ "Quil?" Seth asked, looking now at me. "Quil, are you okay?"

I snapped my head up, wondering what he wanted. "Huh?"

"Quil, let's go outside." Seth said, handing Arya over to Rosalie. He grabbed my shoulder and pushed me over the splintered door, out onto the yard. He looked back through the entrance only once, to see Rosalie cooing at Arya gently, and then turned his full attention to me.

"Quil, everything is going to be _fine_." He said, emphasizing the word to stress his point. "Nessie and Bella are taking care of her, making sure that she knows everything about what will happen now."

"Seth, what if she doesn't love me anymore? What if becoming a vampire broke the imprint bond? Wolves have been the enemies of vampires since the dawn of time, before any of the magic made us turn into them. How can the bond of ultimate love survive the transformation of one into the ultimate enemy? It would be like making Batman fall in love with a female The Joker. Tell me, in what psychotic universe do you ever see that happening?" I asked him, fully expecting him not to answer. He surprised me.

"The psychotic universe where vampires are real and people turn into wolves." He said, very calmly. His expression was more understanding of this all than anyone's that I had seen over anything. "Quil, I have stopped believing that there are impossibilities in this world. Heck, I stopped believing it the second I was myself enough to change back for the first time.

"Quil, I know it may be hard, and I know that it may take a little more time, but I truly believe that this whole thing will work out, somehow. As of twenty minutes ago, you gained an eternity to work through this. Neither one of you is going to die, ever, so there is no time limit to when this thing will resolve itself." He finished his monologue as I stared at him in dumb silence. Seth was so true in his convictions, that I almost entirely believed him when he said that it would work out fine. He could see that I was still unsure, however.

"Quil, transform." He said. "Now." He merely exploded out of his clothes, not bothering to remove them. He then barked and growled at me so fiercely that I made no conscious choice before exploding myself. _Seth, what's your problem?_ I yelled at him. He immediately straightened up, sitting down to stare at me. _Well, I needed you to change, somehow._ He replied simply.

He then began repeating all that he had said before, about Claire and me, but this time feelings and pictures came with it. I became so immersed in the flow of thoughts and feelings that I failed to notice when he sat down right next to me.

The thought train stopped just then, pulling me back into my twisted reality. _Quil, everything __will__ be fine._ He thought one more time.

_Thank you, Seth._ I said sincerely. _I don't know what I did to deserve a pack-mate like you. No wonder even the vamps like you; It's impossible not to with the way your mind works._ He pushed his head up against my neck, the wolf equivalent of a small hug, and then said, _Let's go inside, now. Are you okay?_

_Yeah, thanks to you. You're the best._ I said, shifting back to my human form. Edward had been waiting by the door, and he now walked out to us, a pile of clothing in his hands. "Thanks." I said, taking the bigger pair.

We put on the clothes, not really caring what they were, and then walked back into the house. The door had been picked up and Emmett was walking in from the garage with another of the exact same style and color. _How often do you break down doors?_ I asked silently.

"About three per year, for one reason or another. We always keep some spares in the garage." Edward answered. _Wow. Three doors per year?_ I looked at Seth, who just shrugged. He then held his arms out towards Arya, who was grudgingly handed over by Rosalie.

Her eyes turned to me for the first time since her birth. I suddenly felt an incredibly powerful urge to go to her. She stared at me while I walked over to her, a smile breaking out on her face. She reached out towards me, and Seth gently placed her in my outstretched arms. _Wow. Where is this urge coming from?_ I wondered, looking down into her eyes. "You know, I may have imprinted," Seth said, "But you are still her dad. She'll be living with you. Well, or the Cullens, depending on where you decide to stay." Seth amended. _He's right._ I thought dumbly. She was my daughter, and it was my job to take care of her, at least until Claire was able to.

A short scream interrupted all of our thoughts and conversations. "Nessie!" Jacob shouted, bursting up the stairs faster than anyone else. Edward seemed shocked. Me and Seth were the last ones up, aside from Edward still standing dumb, and entered into the room full of chaos. "Everyone, shut up!" Bella yelled, causing everyone to cease their talking at once.

"Bella, what happened?" Renesmée asked on the floor as Jacob lifted her up.

"Well," she started, her voice straining over some unseen effort she was putting out. "I think that Edward put entirely too much venom into her system, so she will be a vampire in a matter of hours. This means that her talent, I presume, has surfaced early, and I think that is what happened to Renesmée.

"I saw her collapse and immediately put her behind my own shield, while still protecting Claire from pain, and she was fine. Renesmée, what happened?" she asked her after explaining.

"Well, I was showing her as much as I possibly could about being a vampire, speeding it up to get more in. Then, it was like I felt iron chains wrap around me, and I could not do anything, even think. My visions in her head were frozen, unmoving, and I had no control over my body or mind. Then your shield slipped between me and the chains, and I was fine. I honestly don't know what happened." She said, her voice shaking slightly.

"I'm going to keep Claire completely unconscious and unable to do anything until Renesmée is finished with the visions. It seems that Claire has a very potent ability, and I think it will be safer if she remains unconscious for the full three days, so that Renesmée can get in everything." Bella said in a tone that warranted no arguments. She was looking at me as she said this, clearly meaning the last part for me alone. I wouldn't argue, I was terrified of Claire, if I told the truth. I knew that if she attacked me, I would not phase, and she would have complete control over my fate.

Arya reached up and patted my face, calling my attention back to her. She pointed at Claire, a questioning look in her eyes. "That is your mommy." Seth said quietly.

"Mommy?" she repeated in a crystal clear voice. Everyone froze at the sound, even Renesmée, who sounded quite similar. "Mommy?" she asked, pointing at Claire. I nodded, and she appeared to think for a minute. Her face smoothed back into its perfect smile, and she pointed at Seth, calling his name out and reaching. He lurched forward, as though strings were pulling him, and grabbed her gently.

Renesmée had gone back to Claire, her fingers gently resting on Claire's forehead. I went to kneel down right next to her, gazing at her smooth face, beautiful even in unconsciousness. They had redressed her in nicer clothing, the blood gone from the room. There was no sign that she had been pregnant merely half an hour earlier, and her face had taken on a pale hue. _She's right; the venom is working overtime._ Morose thoughts raced through my head, but then Seth's words overrode them: _Everything is going to be fine._ I calmed down enough to open my eyes again, returning my gaze to the girl who still held my entire heart.

xXx

**Claire POV**

_What a strange dream._ I thought as my throat burned. I was chasing a deer right now, but it was not what I craved. It did hold something though, something that could appease my throat, however temporarily. "This thirst will be the hardest thing you have to face in this new life." A voice rang out around me. The voice had no source, it merely was; A presence with no body, no substance. "The thirst is tameable, but it will haunt you for your entire existence. Now, let us take you to the most crucial part of your existence; Your heart and soul." The voice said as the scene shifted.

I now stared at a face that I knew very well; Quil. It was Quil, my Quil, the man who had been with me from the very beginning of my life. "Claire, this is Quil Ateara. He is a werewolf," it said, and a horrible smell permeated the dream. I smelled more cautiously, and realized that the wet-dog and mold smell was coming from Quil. _No, Quil can't smell like that!_ I thought furiously. _Quil always smelled like the forest, and deep, spicy musk! This can't be Quil!_ "Claire, Wolves were enemies to the vampire for thousands of years. That kind of hatred cannot be entirely unbred in a matter of years." I suddenly felt a horrible rage, a desire to kill, build up in me. I wanted to tear Quil apart. _No, no, no!_ I screamed silently. The smell of his blood slammed into my nose, a feral smell, not even as pleasant as the deer, yet I wanted to kill him more than anything else. I wanted to see him lying in a pool of his blood more than I wanted the most delicious human on earth. I realized that was what would satisfy my thirst now; human blood. I screamed silently, unable to find my voice. _Run, Quil, run!_ I thought that if he stood there for more than a few seconds, I would be unable to control myself and kill him. He would not even put up a fight. He would stand there and let me tear him limb from limb, and I would enjoy every second of it. _No!_ I screamed at myself._ No, if you kill him, you will hate yourself forever! Don't do it!_ I was moving towards him, pulling as hard as I could against my body.

"Claire!" the voice screamed. I now held a woman in my arms, the body that the voice belonged to. _Aunt Renesmée._ I thought. I held her as she struggled, the vision entirely gone. I was alone with her in my arms, struggling uselessly against my strength.

Then she was gone. I was now utterly alone in the blackness. I relished in the feel of nothing, enjoying the lack of desire to kill, to feed. _Quil..._ I thought desperately. I remembered back to him, back to how he smelled. I could smell the forest and spicy musk of him right now, clouding all other senses. I then realized that there were no other senses; I could see nothing, hear nothing, taste and feel nothing. The only thing I could grasp was Quil's scent.

Vision returned. I was back in the forest, my throat burning. It was only secondary, however. Quil's true scent still permeated the air, filled my every sense with life. I found where the scent was strongest, and I ran after it. I ran far faster than I had ever seen anyone run, including the Wolves. I chased the scent through the trees, winding up and down hills. I charged through several streams, and finally arrived in a clearing, Quil's scent everywhere. I then saw him. He looked up, and our eyes met. I then smelled another scent, contrasting and eliminating the good smell that was Quil. It was replaced by that horrible wet-dog smell, making my nose crinkle. Quil looked at me worriedly, and I saw the blood pulse beneath his neck. I felt an urge to kill, to lunge at him savagely.

_No, not again!_ I screamed silently. I locked my knees in place, preparing to fight the force that would make my legs move against my will, walking seductively towards Quil. I knew that if I let them take me, I would kill him. I would be unable to stop myself, tearing him to pieces. I would then kill myself afterwards. I would do anything in my power to ensure that I died if I were to kill him.

I felt the force push against my legs, but I would not be denied this time. I resisted with all the will I could muster, and I stayed put. The force and desire both increased. I _wanted_ to kill him, to taste his blood. _No._ I thought firmly. I had taken a single step towards him, but I forced my leg back into place with nothing but my will.

My body was no longer my own. It was as though it were a puppet that had two sets of strings, one set held by me, the other held elsewhere. The other strings pulled my body towards Quil, trying to kill him. I pulled in the opposite direction, desperate to keep my body away from Quil.

A new torment appeared. _His_ smell returned, stronger and more potent than ever before. I desired to taste it more than ever, to smell, to bite and then drain him of the delicious liquid. I started forward once again, this time eager to drink. I felt a stronger desire to kill him than ever before, this time so that I could drink the delicious blood that awaited at his death.

_Stop!_ My mind screamed. I pulled as hard as I could against the puppet strings, although it was so much harder this time. I _wanted_ to let them go, let them take me to him, take the ultimate pleasure in the taste of his blood. _No, you don't! It may taste good, but you will hate yourself for killing him!_ I tried to reason. I looked up into his face, which was sadly staring, completely resigned to his fate. "No!" I screamed out loud.

The vision shattered, the desire was gone, and I was alone. Quil's smell still caressed my senses, but it was no longer a burning, desirous thing. It was Quil, his natural smell, the only thing that could keep me company here. I floated in the darkness, utterly alone but completely happy, soaking in the smell of the one creature I could not live without.

**Please R&R. I see how many people have read this far, and I think it's awesome! Please, tell me what you think of it so far!**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

**Claire POV**

I stared at the human in front of me, resisting the beautiful smell wafting off him. This was the fourth vision of this human, more tantalizingly delicious than anything I had ever smelled, except Quil.

I had killed the last three humans, only because they did not hold the same bond that Quil held for me. There was no reason not to kill them when they smelled so wonderful. "Claire, you must resist, or you cannot come out of here." The voice that kept me company said. I stared at the human, feeling a powerful urge to just lunge forward and drink the sweet liquor that would spill. Venom pooled in my mouth, and my feet began to shuffle forward. _No, Claire, wait!_ I told myself. I didn't want to have this vision again. I thought of the family that this person would have, how they would feel when he didn't come back. My feet faltered. I took that moment to lurch backwards.

I spent what seemed like an eternity staring at the human, repressing my instincts and wishes, both the exact same; to kill. I swallowed more venom, holding my breath. "Breathe, Claire. You can't spend every second of every day holding your breath. Well, you could, but it would prevent you from living any semblance of a normal life." I breathed in shakily, the gorgeous odor reaching me once again. _Kill him!_ My instincts begged, trying to lunge at the human, just standing there dumbly. _No, you can't! Think of his family! No, screw that, think of what Quil would say if you killed him!_ That silenced my less noble side immediately.

Nothing mattered more than what Quil thought. If I killed this human, Quil would be more disappointed than if I had killed him. Sure, if I had killed him, he wouldn't be around to see me kill the human, but I hadn't, and he was. I would _not_ disappoint Quil, no matter what I wanted to do.

I realized that the vision had left, and I was now talking to Renesmée. "Good job, Claire. You are going to wake up soon, and I want you to remember everything you did in here. I have been preparing you for the real world, what to expect. Be prepared to crush every instinct you have, every minor urge."

I tensed my entire body as I felt air brushing across it, new smells entering my nose, sounds reaching my ears. I slowly opened my eyes, remembering the first vision I had had in my sleep.

A kind faced looked down on me, and I recognized Esme. _Wow!_ I thought, acknowledging how weak my human eyes had been. _She is more beautiful than I had ever thought_! "Claire?" she spoke quietly, trying not to alarm me. "Claire, are you okay?" she asked.

"Umm…" I started at the sound of my voice. _It is beautiful!_ I spoke again, just to hear it. "Why is everything so beautiful? Renesmée prepared me for everything to be enhance, not beautiful."

"When you can see as clearly as we do, everything has a beauty that was never there." She explained softly." For example, as a human, you probably thought that dust was annoying and boring. Now look at it." She pointed up as she spoke, and I followed her hand. I gasped, the air providing no relief as it should have.

I stared at the thousands of tiny stars reflecting light above me. I stared at the eighth color that I never knew existed, and I saw a whole new world in one tiny dust mote. I saw ridges and lines, spots and whorls.

I looked back to Esme, and then I realized another smell in the room, one that I had grown accustomed to; _Quil._ My mind immediately began searching for the source of the gorgeous smell that now possessed my entire brain.

I turned rapidly, not even realizing the speed, and found Quil sitting across the room. My breathing stopped, and if I had had a beating heart, it would have exploded out of my chest. I stared at the bronze-skinned creature sitting in a soft chair, watching me carefully. I found myself unable to move, frozen by the most beautiful being on the face of this planet.

"Claire?" he spoke, even quieter than Esme. My dead heart almost gave tangible thump at his voice, the sound reflecting the beauty that stared me in the face. "Q-Quil… Is…Is that you?" I asked. I could barely recognize him with these new eyes. I could see nothing else, however, a blackness had enveloped everything but him.

I started at the lack of senses that now surrounded me, but I couldn't take my eyes away from him. He froze in time, and I was suddenly in space. I was surrounded by billions of stars, the earth, and other planets I had never known the names of. Wires connected me to the Earth, stopping me from flying freely to another of the unknown planets. One by one, I saw the strings cut neatly, disappearing as they broke, but as each string was cut, I felt another string holding me elsewhere. The last string snapped, and the Earth disappeared completely. In its place stood Quil, a thousand steel cables replacing the wires as he replaced the Earth.

The Earth suddenly rushed back into view, coming up behind Quil. We flew into it, and the sky rushed past us, the ground zooming at us quickly. We flew straight through the roof of the Cullens' house, causing no damage.

Nothing had changed, except now I felt an even stronger bond with Quil, stronger than any bond I had felt as a human. I stepped slowly towards him, slower than any human could ever move. His eyes lit up, and I felt all of my control shatter; I needed to hug him, feel him in my arms. "Quil…" I muttered, flashing over to him. I heard shouts and exclamations from behind me, but I already had my arms wrapped around him, his blazing heat an open flame on my skin. I tensed my muscle to prevent from squeezing him too hard, merely resting against him.

I suddenly felt cold arms grab me, and I became mad; _how dare they try to take me away from Quil! _I screamed silently. I felt something push against my mind, and I grabbed it, binding it tightly with its own force, and I felt a pair of arms fall off of me. I felt more minds push up against me as more hands grabbed at me, and I bound each of them as I had the first, the hands falling uselessly.

I realized that Quil hadn't moved. I pulled back slightly, staring up at him. He was dumbfounded. I breathed in slowly, his tantalizing aroma filling my senses, more potent than any flower or food could ever be. "Claire…" he choked, staring behind me. "Claire, what did you do?" I turned slowly, and I froze, cringing into him automatically. Behind me lay four bodies, unmoving and lifeless. I looked at Renesmée, Bella, Edward and Esme, all appearing to sleep on the floor, but vampires couldn't sleep.

Quil's arms wrapped around me tightly, but turned me to face the bodies completely. "Claire, what happened?" he asked again.

"I…I…I don't know! I felt something touch my mind when they all grabbed at me, and it was like I locked a door around the feeling, trapping it in a cage." I said, replaying what exactly had happened. I slowly unwrapped his arms from around me and crouched down next to Bella, the first body in front of me. I touched her arm, and I felt something there, like a cage door being rattled uselessly. I unlocked it, and Bella sprang to life. She lurched to the other side of the room, landing in a hunting crouch. "Claire, what did you do!?" she screamed, terrified and furious.

I felt hot hands grab the tops of my arms, stopping the flood of anger that was being caused by Bella's screaming. "I don't know, but I now know how to fix it, Bella." I answered. I started towards Edward, but then my body froze, detached from my brain. "Bella, please. Let her go, or else she can't fix them." Quil said gently, trailing fire on my arms as he rubbed them; it felt wonderful.

I lurched forward, stumbling slightly as she unblocked me. I touched Edward and unlocked the cage holding him. He sprang next to Bella, just as shocked and terrified as she was. I felt something brush my mind, but no one was physically touching me. I stared at Edward, knowing that he was reading my mind. "Edward, stop reading my mind." I growled. I was preparing to launch at him, but Quil closed his hands around my arms again, effectively cutting off the anger.

I fell against him, feeling somewhat drained from all the emotion that had just coursed through me. "Sorry, Edward. I shouldn't have snapped." I apologized, and saw the shock cross his face. I felt the presence brush up against my mind, but ignored it as I started towards Renesmée and Esme. I touched each of them and unlocked them, and they just opened their eyes. "Claire?" they both asked at the same time as I jumped to the other side of the room, Quil jumping with me nearly as fast.

"Claire, how can you stand being so close to Quil? Isn't his smell driving you crazy?" Renesmée asked. "No." I answered confused. Then I remembered the visions, where Quil smelled so tempting I could barely stop myself from attacking him. "No, he smells wonderful. Not like food," I corrected as he tensed and all four of them lowered into a shallow crouch. "Not like food, just like the best smelling flower in the world. Well, not a flower, more like being in a dense jungle after it had just rained spice. Well, much more powerful than that, but who would want to eat a tree?" I asked, truly wondering why I would ever want to eat Quil.

"Claire, aren't you thirsty?" Quil asked me right in my ear. As he spoke, I felt a burning in my throat, but it was immediately erased as Quil breathed, his scent blowing in my face. I forgot to reply as I slowly turned my head towards the delicious scent, wanting to breathe in more. "Breathe, Quil." I commanded. He exhaled and I got another breath of the deep-woods scent. I pressed my face into his chest, breathing deeply, merely enjoying his smell. "Claire?" he asked, interrupting my moment.

I then remembered the question I had just been asked. "No, not really. At least, not with you standing right here. You smell amazing!" I gushed, putting my nose back into his shoulder. "I don't want to smell anything else right now." I murmured quietly.

I heard absolutely nothing, so I glanced up at the vampires to see all of their mouths hanging open in a very unflattering manner. "Guys." I said, snapping them back to themselves.

"Claire, you really should hunt, especially if you want to see your daughter." Bella said, looking at me. My mind immediately turned black, thinking of the child of the monster, Gerik. Quil felt me tense up, and began massaging my arms. "Claire, there have been some complications, and we are keeping it. I think that you should hunt first, then try to understand everything."

I nodded slowly, still entranced by the air that Quil had blown past my nose while speaking. I walked towards the window, opened the door, and stepped out. I dropped slowly, Quil right behind me. He landed next to me and we walked off into the forest as Edward and Bella followed a few feet behind. "I'll be right back." Quil said, jumping behind a tree. I heard the rustle of material as he pulled off his pants, and felt the soundless shimmer that permeated the air as he shifted.

I nearly collapsed to my knees as he returned, his smell infinitely more potent than as a human. I just stared at him, his gorgeous aroma flooding my mind. "Claire, hunting?" Edward reminded me.

"Right." I said, turning back to the trail, but my mind was still obsessed with Quil. I ran my hand through his fur, and was unable to stop, running my hand along the fur, reminding me of a golden retriever puppy's fur. It was softer than any silk I had ever touched, ever imagined. Everything about Quil seemed to surpass any of my wildest fantasies.

I soon located a new scent, one that was only familiar from my dreams. I found where it was located, and I ran, Quil easily keeping up with me. I burst out into a small clearing, tackling a large female deer, while Quil attacked the largest male. Bella and Edward burst out behind me, tackling others of the group while the rest scattered.

I drank quickly, having experience from the several times I had hunted in my dreams during my transformation. It was exactly as it had been in my dreams; the taste would never truly erase my thirst, but it would mellow it. "Can we be done now?" I asked. "I'm really not all that thirsty. One seems to be enough for now."

They seemed to debate internally before answering, "I guess. Stay near Quil though, as you might need to-" They broke off as the wind shifted suddenly. It blew a new scent into the clearing, one that smelled much better than the deer, and much more edible than Quil. I sprinted after it, leaving them all behind. This new scent held my mind like nothing had held it other than Quil. I had no desire other than to taste this human that had wandered too far into the forest.

I heard padded feet running up behind me, gaining on me quickly, but I only had another hundred meters until I reached the source of the smell.

I had just broken another clearing and seen a wounded man lying there, bleeding, when a blazing hot body tackled me back through the trees on the other side of the clearing. I struggled at first, but the smell of the wolf erased the smell of the man. I stopped moving as we flew, landing near a tree. Quil's eyes stared down at me, and I stared back, unmoving, allowing him to keep me trapped there, away from the human. "Thank you." I said to him as I realized that I would have killed the man, leaving him dead instead of just hurt.

We sat like that for nearly two hours until Bella and Edward returned. "It's safe now, Quil." He said, Quil letting me up. "We are sorry for that, Claire. I should have checked the area before letting you out of the house." He said, guilt evident on his face.

"It's fine, Edward. Let's just go home." I said, turning back towards the house.

My thoughts raced, as we ran home, bouncing from images of my baby to those of the other wolves, wondering if they would smell as good as Quil did. Many more thoughts ran through my head, but none were as important as those relating to the wolves or my baby.

I broke away from the images as we came into view of the house, and Quil ran behind a tree to change. He walked out quickly, and we went to the house, for me to meet my first and only child.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

**Claire's POV**

_He walked out quickly, and we went to the house, for me to meet my first and only child._

We stepped through the door, and everyone froze. Jasper and Emmett stepped between me and Seth, whose back was turned to me. _Why Seth?_ I wondered. _Where is the baby?_

I didn't know how I felt at that moment. I could have killed it, and been content, or I could have loved it and been just fine. My thoughts argued and bounced around in my skull, nearly giving me a headache. I felt Edward's cold hand on my shoulder and he said, "Calm down, just relax. We will make everything clear in a moment." On cue, all my confusion and anger were washed away, leaving me in a calm pool of emptiness, with the exception of what I felt for Quil.

"Claire, we have something very important to discuss." Carlisle spoke from next to Seth. I noticed that Rosalie stood there too, almost in front of Seth, as though she was protecting him.

"Claire, I think that we should let Quil tell you this, as he will be able to phrase it better than anyone else." He continued, staring at me calmly. I became more confused, but I asked no questions, merely looked at Quil. "Claire, now, I know that you are probably confused and can't decide what you feel towards this baby." He began calmly, his arms on my shoulders. "Now, Claire, whatever you feel, I understand, but if you hate it, there is _really _nothing that anyone can do. The child is here, and it cannot be harmed, no matter what anyone else wants. You see…" he said, starting into the main topic. I had my emotions carefully under check, focusing the majority of my mind on how much I loved Quil, and how he could take away any anger I felt just by wiping his fire across my skin.

"Claire, do you remember when I told you about imprinting, how I told you that I would only ever feel about you how you wanted me to? Claire, I promised your parents that I would never do anything to you that I wouldn't feel completely comfortable doing in front of them." He said, as if preparing me for something scary, or dangerous.

"Quil, can you just tell me what happened, and where it is?" I asked impatiently, interrupting him.

"Hold on, Claire. I need you to know exactly what happened, and why it is important for you to stay objective about your feelings in the next few minutes.

"Now, here is the main thing: Claire, Seth imprinted, and it was on your baby. He feels exactly as I did about you when I first saw you, and he will do literally anything to be able to be here as she grows up." His words gushed out of his mouth, spilling the entire story.

I thought nothing. I felt nothing. I merely stared at him, trying to get some form of thought to pass through my brain. _Oh. _I managed. The thoughts came flooding back in at that one word, and I asked one question: "Where is she?" My eyes wandered the room, stopping on Seth, on his back facing me as he was bent over something in his arms. "Claire," Quil said, wrapping his arms around me gently, but restraining me.

I slumped back into them, letting control of my body go entirely. He quickly grabbed me around the waist, hoisting me up and holding me there, so that I didn't collapse to the floor. "Claire?" he asked, panicked. "Edward, can vampires faint?" he nearly shouted.

"No, Quil. She has just relaxed entirely so that she has no urge to rush forward and do anything drastic." He explained, trying to hold in a laugh. Quil relaxed a bit, but still supported my entire weight. "Seth, can I see her?" I asked, feeling a lot more calm than I thought I would. _Jasper._ I muttered silently, casting a glance in his direction.

Seth turned around hesitantly, and slowly began to move forward. As he approached, very slowly, I gradually straightened up, supporting myself again. Emmett and Jasper had moved to the side, giving Seth space to walk through, followed closely by Rosalie. "Rose, go sit down on the couch. Don't even think what you're thinking right now, or I will make her touch, you, and I won't let her wake you up." Edward threatened, reading something undoubtedly evil from her mind.

"Why should her touching me scare me, Eddie?" she questioned, sneering at him.

"Claire, why don't you demonstrate exactly what you can do, to me?" Bella said, stepping forward. Edward growled slightly, but everyone else stayed frozen and silent. I carefully reached out and grabbed her arm, gently but firmly. _Go ahead. _ I heard a voice in my head say as I touched her. I jumped slightly at hearing her voice in my head, locking it away, Bella falling limp in my hand.

"Bella!?" several voices cried out, rushing forward at once.

"Claire, what did you do? I can't feel her emotions, at all! It's as if she isn't even there anymore!" Jasper exclaimed, clearly flustered. I saw Rosalie back off slowly, staring at me in shock. "Wha-what did you do to her?" she gasped, seeing clearly Bella's unconscious form.

I then unbound Bella's mind, allowing her to regain consciousness. She stood up quickly, backing away from me. "Bella, I heard your thoughts!" I announced, excited and terrified by this new revelation. "What?" she asked, more confused than astounded.

"Uh, guys? The kid?" We all turned as Seth spoke again, looking uncomfortably at us, as though he really didn't want us to touch the child in his arms. The child in question took that moment to sit up fully, and look at me. I gasped in surprise at how beautiful she was, despite the knowledge of who the father was. "What is her name?" I breathed, so low I wondered if they could hear.

"Arya." Quil answered in my ear, almost just as quietly. "Is that okay?" he asked, genuinely wondering if I was okay with that name. I just nodded, staring in shock. "Can I hold her?" I asked Seth, already stepping forward slowly to do just that.

I had just reached out to take her, when she spoke; "Mommy!" she declared, reaching out for me. She seemed happy to see me, as though she knew me from somewhere before. "She recognizes you, Claire." Seth said, one hand still extended, touching her slightly. She nodded her head while still staring at me, agreeing with Seth's statement.

I could barely feel her mind touching me, and I reached out for it. I didn't know why, but I was drawn to it very strongly. I breached its border, and I was immediately bombarded by thoughts and feelings and images, mostly of me. Impressions attacked me, saying without words, _Mommy, I know who you are! I recognize you from when I first came out. My Seth wolf has been holding me ever since, only giving me to The Blond Lady named Rosalie. My Quil wolf has held me too, Mommy. I love my wolf people, Quil and Seth._ The impressions faded into random thoughts and questions, each one accompanied by an image or memory of the three short days I had been unconscious.

I began to answer some of her questions, and they all stopped. In real words, she then repeated exactly what I had just said to her, in nearly perfect English. _Arya, can you understand me?_ I asked her mentally, just speaking into her mind. _Yes, Mommy. I can understand you._ She replied back. This sentence was not merely an impression of a sentence, but actual words being thought at me.

I retreated quickly, regaining my sight and senses. "Wow." Edward said.

"What happened?" Quil asked as everyone turned their attention to him, waiting for his answer.

"I…I heard Claire in Arya's mind. Claire mentally entered into Arya's thoughts, and she began to speak with her. They traded memories, feelings, thoughts, everything! It is like…It's like no ability I have ever seen before!" he finished, very excited by the end. "Carlisle, can we discuss this? I want to try to learn more about her powers before they manifest themselves any further." He said, racing upstairs without another word.

I gave her back to Seth, walking back to Quil and pulling him out of the house with me. "Quil?" I said as I turned around to face him, nearly a mile away from the house. "Quil, I'm scared."

xXx

**Edward's POV**

Up in Carlisle's study, we both took a seat to discuss Claire's powers. "Carlisle, what could this be? I mean, this is more powerful than any vampire ability I have ever seen! I believe that if hers and Benjamin's abilities were compared with no reference to physical or mental, that hers could easily surpass his, by far!" I was quickly becoming engrossed in speculation, and terrified by what this could mean. "Edward, stop pacing, you're going to wear a hole in the floor." Carlisle said, stopping me. _Now, let's examine the facts that we know are present, with no further speculation as to what could manifest in the future._ He thought, abandoning the slow speed of even vampire speech. "She can still affect Bella, even with her shield.

"I read her mind when she did it to Bella, and I was still unable to read Bella's mind when she was…Unconscious. When she did it to Esme, I was still able to read her mind, but it was very muffled, and frantic. Do you have any thoughts as to why Bella's shield was still intact when she was…bound?" I asked, my mind still running over possibilities.

"Hmmmm…" Carlisle sat in silence, his mind running over too many possibilities for me to keep up with as I tried to think as well. After what seemed like forever, Carlisle said, "I think, that what she does, is that she mentally binds them, preventing them from sending even the simplest thoughts out beyond their minds. It makes me wonder, however, why she could still read Bella's mind, even though her shield was still up."

"Wait, Carlisle…Oh. Bella has an answer for that; She just told me that she lifted her shield briefly, just to tell her that she was ready. She didn't want Rosalie to be prepared for anything to happen, and it was just brief enough that I didn't sense it, since I wasn't completely focused on her. I think that we should discredit her hearing Bella, for now." I told him, answering Bella's thoughts as she called out for me, shield raised.

"So," I continued. "She can bind people within their minds, she can hear thoughts and speak into people's minds, but all of this only with direct contact. It seems that clothing has no effect, so it is more flexible than Renesmée's or Aro's abilities." I said, listing out all of the clues.

"It appears that we have quite the conundrum on our hands." He said out loud, becoming fascinated with the subject that Claire provided. "I think that we should have her in here to examine her abilities further, after she is calmed and controlled, at least a bit more. Shall we adjourn downstairs?" He asked, standing and motioning towards the door.

We would wait for a while, then examine Claire's abilities more closely, after some time had passed for her to grow into them.

**Claire's POV**

"Quil, I'm scared." I said, putting my hand on his face and storming into his mind. I showed him everything that had happened to me in the last hour, or so, and threw all of my thoughts and feelings at him. I showed him my imprisonment of Bella, and how I heard and talked with Arya inside her head, and how I constantly felt him as a presence, even when we were not touching. I had just realized this fact as we left, but now it was prominent in my mind.

_Claire._ He thought at me. I froze my thoughts in their tracks, an empty silence echoing through his mind as he remained thoughtless for a moment. _Claire, what do you want to do? _He asked, pulling out feelings of mine that I had just shown him, wondering at what my intentions for the immediate future were. _I don't know!_ I screamed at him. _I was just forced into this bizarre world, and found that I have an incredibly powerful ability to silence people inside their own heads, and communicate with people without moving a single muscle. I have a little baby girl who was imprinted on by a werewolf, and I have a psychotic blond vampire coveting my baby! Quil, I'm scared! What do I do? _I ended my little tirade, waiting for his reply.

I felt hot arms grab me outside of his mind, and I was pulled back into my own body. He pulled me down to the ground, resting his back against a tree. He pulled me into his lap and just rested his chin on my head and breathed. "Claire, calm down. Just breathe, and enjoy the silence for a little while." He told me.

His hot hands traced patterns on my arms and back, helping to distract me and calm my racing mind. I found that I was able to think clearly, able to focus on one thought at a time instead of thirty racing around at once.

I thought of everything that had happened previously, very slowly. I then thought back to my human life, and realized something: _ My mom hasn't seen me for over a week!_ I then decided that I should go see her.

I threw the idea into Quil's head, and he tensed up slightly. "Claire, I don't know if that is such a good idea." He said slowly.

"Quil, when you are sitting here, the thirst is barely even noticeable. I only even smelled that first human because you had moved away from me, diluting the smell a lot. I have not even smelled Arya, because you have been next to me the whole time, clouding me with your wonderful scent. Quil, I am entirely confident that if you are there, I will be fine." I really did believe that with his smell there, I would be completely okay with talking to my parents.

One other thought skipped through my head just then, and it made me tense, then melt into Quil's arms: I would be alive forever. So would Quil. I had just realized, that no matter what happened next, we would love each other forever, and we would actually have forever to love each other, instead of the normal human lifespan we would have had earlier. This made me feel very giddy, and I began laughing.

"Claire? What is it? What's wrong?" he asked, concerned by my sudden laughing fit.

"Quil, it's so anticlimactic at this moment, that I doubt you would ever find it funny, in even the slightest sense." I told him, calming myself enough to speak properly. "Quil, I know it is really random timing, but I was just thinking, we have forever together. I am tired of waiting to legally make you mine; Quil, can we get married soon?"

**A/N: Bad stopping place, but it seemed appropriate for the moment. **

**Sadly, I am going on vacation tomorrow night, so I won't be writing for a while, most likely. I will **_**attempt**_** to write at least on chapter in the next 2 or 3 weeks, but no one count on it. Sorry.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Alright, I'm back from vacation, and I managed to upload three new chapters. Hope they are okay.**

Chapter 10

"_Quil, I think that Claire is going to be pregnant."_

"Claire…Is going to be pregnant?" I asked, dumbfounded beyond words. Claire had already had one kid, and with her new life I thought that was all I would get. "Wow…Claire…" I sat down, hard, in the nearest chair. Claire's newest scream snapped me out of it very quickly. "Now that we think that we know what it is, can Bella come block her? I can't bear this anymore." I asked him, begging really.

"Quil, I think that we should leave her like this, so that if the pain increases, we will know. Otherwise she could still die without us knowing if I-"

"Not really, Carlisle." Jenna broke in. "Carlisle, I am content to stay here with Claire, monitoring her progress, all of that stuff. I think it will be okay if Bella comes." I breathed a heavy sigh, relieved that Claire's pain would be over soon.

Bella walked in almost immediately, walking towards Claire at a normal, human pace. She merely looked in Claire's direction, and the screaming ceased. "I'm sorry, Quil, but I think that we should keep her entirely unconscious. If she is awake, there is a huge chance that she will do something dangerous, and she won't be able to feel any pain if it hurts her."

"But, she's a vampire. How could she hurt herself?" I wondered. It made no sense! _How could Claire hurt herself when she's a vampire?_

"Claire is becoming part human, Quil." Carlisle said. "The skin is already warm and very soft, although with no blood, I don't see how. I don't completely understand how she is going to manage to keep part of her body human, while the rest of her is vampire. She is going to need…" I stopped listening at that point, the explanation going beyond my minor health education. _I really need to go to med school._ I thought as I slid into unconsciousness.

xXx

The past two months had been torture for me. Claire had spent nearly two weeks screaming in pain from the semi-transformation, and there was nothing I had been able to do about it. Even now, a month and a half after the main change was finished, she still cried out frequently. _Claire's vampire side keeps trying to restore her abdominal area back to crystal, but it needs to remain human for the pregnancy to progress. This means that the human cells need to be renewed frequently, and that is what is causing her the pain. _I remembered Jenna's words when I had asked about it, and I had hated the answer.

My head hurt from all of this thinking. I had even left for almost an entire day, but my imprint bond pulled me back before sunset. _Claire, how long is this going to go on?_ I wondered randomly, not meaning for Edward to hear. "It should be finished in around seven more months, Quil. But during that seven months, it will probably get worse." My face probably became the meanest scowl anyone had ever seen when he said that, as he immediately began to explain why. "Quil, normal pregnancies cause pain and all sorts of problems in humans. The fact that Claire needs to be burned every few hours to keep the pregnancy up, will add to the normal pain of pregnancies.

"Let's just hope that she won't need any special food, like she did during the first one. I don't know what we are going to do if she does. Perhaps Jenna will be able to help us out this time, but I would not count on that."

_Alright, Ed. I need to go chill out before I explode here._ I thought at him as I walked off. I had been losing control more frequently lately, probably due to the now-permanent state of pain that Claire was in. _I swear, I'm going crazy._ I thought as I phased.

_No you're not. We all go through crap, it's just a way of life._ I hadn't realized that Seth was here, and I was grateful for his presence. I immersed myself in his thoughts and feelings as I ran, finding it much easier to live with his outlook in my situation.

As the sun went down, I found myself running back towards the house. Seth had left a short time back, leaving me to stew in my own problems again. _Well, it was a nice little vacation. _I thought grimly as I shifted back to enter the house. I saw Claire sitting at the table, Jenna's hand on her shoulder with her eyes closed in concentration.

"Hey, Quil. How was your run?" She asked as I sat down. She had a small sandwich in her hands, and she grimaced as she took another small bite. "It was fine. I got to talk to Seth a little bit. Claire, why are you eating human food?" I asked as I reached into the refrigerator for some leftovers.

"I need to eat a little bit so that the human part of me survives. I hate it, since it still tastes like dirt and ashes, but it makes me feel a little sick if I don't eat every few hours." She said, taking bigger bite, a disgusting scowl on her face. "Why can't Carlisle just put an IV into your stomach? Then you wouldn't need to eat, and you would still get the little nutrition that you need." I suggested, feeling proud that I had remembered what an IV could be used for. "Well, he suggested that but, it turns out that instead of blood running through my stomach, it is a type of venom. I don't really get it but-"

"The venom is merely a transporter." Jenna interrupted, pulling her hand away from Claire's shoulder. "It takes nutrients around her system, but it doesn't have the capacity to change Claire back to a full vampire. I guess it is handy, since it will be what keeps the kid healthy. Well, if the kid ever grows." She said the last part very quietly so that we almost missed it. "What?" Claire gasped, dropping her sandwich back onto the plate.

"Well, the egg cell was fertilized around a month ago, but it still hasn't even formed a bundle yet. At this point, there should be close to around sixty-four cells that make up the embryo, but right now there are only eight.

"The fetus is growing at an extremely slow rate. If it continues like this, it will take…around three years until it can be delivered at the proper size." She was growling at the end, clearly not liking having to spend so long watching out for Claire's second child.

Carlisle came dashing down the stairs just then, shock being erased from his face. "Jenna, I don't think that time is exactly a problem. Go get ready for school or you'll miss the bus today." She grumbled about being happy to miss school, but left without making an actual argument.

"Carlisle, is she right? Will it really take three years for Claire to have this kid?" I asked, worried about Claire enduring the constant pain that she had for three whole years. "Quil, as soon as I heard Jenna say the rate that it was growing, I calculated it myself. She is right. It will take somewhere between two years and one hundred-thirty-six days, and two years and two hundred-seventy-three days."

Claire had not said a word during this time, so I knelt down beside her chair and grabbed her face gently. "Claire? Are you okay?" I asked as I traced random patterns into her icy-smooth cheek. She nodded slightly, then I felt her enter into my mind.

Her brain was a tornado of confusion and pain, happiness and sadness, jealousy and smugness. I was glad that we were linked in a supernatural way right now, or my own brain would have melted. _Claire? Are you okay?_ I asked again. All of her emotions melted apart until they were distinct, and she shoved each one at me until I understood the reasons behind them all.

I pushed them into a small corner of her mind, filing and pushing until all that was left was an empty space for clear thinking. _Thank you. _She thought at me. I felt body slump against mine, and I had to focus a little more to catch her. She then started grabbing parts of my day from my mind, watching them like a movie, then putting them back to grab another.

Claire spent the entire night doing this, continuing even after I had carried her up to our bed and fallen asleep. My dreams were images and clips of parts of my life, ranging from when Claire was only four, all the way until a year ago. I dreamed perfectly all night, not waking once, enjoying this night with no pain.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

**Claire POV**

"Carlisle, how can I only be in my first trimester?" I screeched as he measured my belly for the fourth time that month. "Claire, I can only guess that Jenna was wrong in her rate of growth. If we were basing our predictions on that, then you would be at about here." He indicated seven millimeters away from the tip of where my stomach currently was, and then resumed talking. "Claire, this means that you will probably have about two and a half to three years from now, unless the growth rate continues to digress."

"So," Quil said, "We still have a while to find a new place to live and for you to build up enough cred to work at home?"

"Yes, Quil, we have plenty of time." He said snappily, which was still quite mild compared to how anyone else would have said it. "Claire, it is not that large of a difference. You have to have noticed how, with time meaning so little to us, six months seems like barely any time at all."

"Carlisle, have you ever given birth with a human stomach, the edges burning like crazy ever hour or so?" I seethed. I didn't wait for him to answer, "I didn't think so. Ah!" I cringed around my small bump of a stomach as the burning I had just been talking about reared its head and attacked. "Claire!" Quil exclaimed, wrapping his arms around me.

I chuckled weakly, trying to ignore the burning that was an almost constant part of my life now. Even after a whole year of this pain, Quil still freaked out as if I were gushing blood from every orifice. I reached up and ran my hand through his hair, calming him down. "I'm…fine, Quil." I said, struggling to keep my voice even.

"Carlisle, I'm home!" Jenna shouted as she came in through the front door. "Where's dad? I need to show him my report card!" She asked as she skipped quickly past us, exiting through the back door.

"He's out hunting with your mom. I think you can follow their trail." He answered as he turned back to Claire. "Claire, probably for the next year or so, you are going to be having a lot of urges. The last time you were pregnant, it was too quick for you to really notice. I think that you are going to feel the full brunt of these urges, as they will last much longer than they do for humans."

"Great, thanks Carlisle." I said sharply as I headed out the back door. Of course Quil would follow, but I hadn't expected him so soon. I felt a great furry head slip between my legs, lifting me high into the air. I slid down onto his back, resting my head against his soft neck. _Let's run._ He thought at me as he began sprinting.

I let myself slide into his mind, enjoying the simplicity of his thoughts as he ran and talked to Jake. They avoided the topic of my pregnancy completely, which I greatly appreciated. Quil felt my silent thanks and chuckled softly, sending a light rumble through my whole body. I snuggled into his blazing fur, enjoying the ride as he ran for no reason, no destination in mind.

As he ran, we thought about random, pointless things such as the weather next week, whether Rose and Emmett would return from Kuwait, and where we could move to next week. _You know, I think that we'll move to Alaska or something. _Quil thought, enjoying the idea of ten foot deep snow. _Carlisle has been thinking about living up in Denali, or somewhere nearby. I think he misses Kate and Eleazar._

_I think that you're right. Alaska definitely seems like a possibility._ I agreed with him, sharing in his thoughts of digging massive snow tunnels all over the countryside. _Yes, that would be fun._ An image of him digging through slush then flashed through, and we both laughed at that. We had forgotten about his temperature, most likely melting the snow before it could harden into the smooth, round tunnels we had originally pictured. _Oh well, we can try. _He thought, laughing his deep, coughing wolf-laugh.

We continued on like that for the next couple of hours, losing track of our whereabouts completely. We were just about to turn back when Quil fell into a deep snow bank, covering us both entirely. I laughed and blew all the snow away with lightning-quick movements.

Quil was just laying there in the snow, tongue hanging out of his mouth as he smiled a big wolfy grin. I had fallen off of his back as he fell, and I missed the company of his mind. He seemed to read mine as he suddenly lunged at me, causing me to land on my back in the snow, his massive paws pinning me down by my shoulders.

A hug wet tongue then attacked my face, slobbering wet kisses all over. "Ew, Quil! Stop that!" I began laughing uncontrollably then, and he jumped off to the side. I put my arm in his fur, and linked our minds. _Quil, help. I can't stop laughing. I think that this may be one of those pregnancy fits that Carlisle told me about a few months back._

_I think it's pretty hilarious!_ He thought back at me as he reached over to lick my face again. "Stop!" I gasped out, grabbing my stomach, pain from laughing too hard shooting through it. He then placed his nose by my ear, and huffed out the biggest breath I had ever felt. It tickled like crazy, inciting another round of laughter.

I had just started calming down, when he lifted his back paws and shook his butt, acting like a little puppy wanting to play fetch. He then jumped across my body, landing awkwardly on his left paws. They flew out from underneath him, causing him to fall sideways. I exploded again, thinking that that was one of the funniest things I had ever seen.

My laughter was cut off by a burning pain shooting through my abdomen, just below my ribs. I gasped in pain, Quil's breathy laughs cutting off just as quickly. I felt his big nose press up against my face, and his mind forced itself into mine. _Claire! Are you okay?_ He asked, his concern his most pressing emotion right now. He had officially entered concerned imprint mode. _Yeah, it's just the normal thing, Quil. I am okay._ It had already started to pass, but he was still worrying entirely too much. _Quil, you don't have to worry so much about me. I mean, it's not like this is anything new._

_Claire, I can never not worry about you. Your pain, no matter what is causing it, makes me worry more than anything else in this world. It is even worse when I can't do anything to stop it._ Examples of what he was talking about pulsed through my mind, filling me with the immensity of the pain he felt at my pain. I was truly touched by his level of concern. _Wow, Quil. I am really glad that you imprinted on me. I don't think that anyone has ever cared this much about me._

I felt him change back into his human form after I said that, and his hot arms wrapped around me. "Claire, never doubt that I love you more than anyone else ever can. As I have demonstrated in the past, I will do anything I can to make you happy." He had begun to nuzzle my ear as he said this. "You're my very favorite person in this world Claire."

"Quil…" I said as I felt myself being drawn to him. "Quil, we should go. I don't think it would be very good for me to get 'distracted' at this point in time." I told him, showing him what I meant through my mind. _Let's get out of here._ I thought at him.

He phased right there, grabbing me gently in his teeth before jumping back out of the big hole. He tossed me up in the air, positioning himself so that I landed between his shoulders. He took off at that instant, forcing me to grab onto his fur tightly.

_Quil, you know that I am not exactly the most coordinated vampire at this time, right? _I asked him as he ran. He laughed as he answered, enjoying the thought of me falling that one time, jumping right up and stating that had meant to do it. _Yes, I do know that. I may be your imprinter, but I still love jokes at other people's folly. Yes, even yours, Claire._ I smacked him lightly, settling deeper into his fur.

We arrived home just before ten-thirty. We entered the door together, hands and minds linked. I began to sit down, and Quil felt exactly when something was wrong; I felt a shooting pain through my stomach, different from the normal burning. I screamed, something I had gotten better about not doing. "Claire!" Quil shouted, concerned as usual. Everyone else just looked somewhat concerned, a little sympathetic as they thought of the burning that I endured multiple times a day.

I screamed again as a heavy pressure was put on the front of my stomach. "Jenna! Get down here, this is different!" Edward shouted, reading from my mind what was happening. I felt a pulling deep within my stomach, as though a large ball of Playdough was being torn in half.

"I'm here, what is it…Claire!" She dashed forward and grabbed my face, forcing me to be still.

**Jenna POV**

I grabbed Claire's face as soon as I saw her. I reached inside of her with my mind, searching for the problem. I reached her uterus and gasped in shock. It seemed as though a tornado was tearing through her womb, shaking everything. I looked closer, and saw that instead of one growing lump, there were two thrashing ones. "No!" I shouted in distress. I heard Edward explain everything that I was seeing, and I heard Nessie run down the stairs. "Nessie! What do I do?" I had no clue how to fix this. Even though I took extra-curricular med classes, I had no idea as to what was happening, or how to fix it.

My mind split in half, and I saw a new set of images appear in the new half. The fetus had split apart, somehow, and now it was trying to fix itself so that it didn't perish. I saw an image of the two separate fetuses growing at an incredible rate, surpassing that of Nessie during Bella's pregnancy. _Jenna, you have to make them twins. Force Claire's stomach to expand, and then give them all the parts that the other has. If this child is to survive, you need to do this, very quickly. Begin with the major organs, worry about containing them later. _I then saw the structural layout of what the fetus looked like before it split, and what each new fetus should look like.

Thankfully, they were not all that complex, or else I would have been in trouble. I still had to work very fast, however. The jerking and throbbing increased, and I could feel the life force in each half vanishing quickly.

I entered one of them through Claire's body first, forcing the tiny organs to be generated faster than any organs had ever been grown before. Soon, they were both just half of a body with organs of the other half floating around nearby. I had nearly exploded Claire's stomach during the process, trying to make room for the two new babies. In less of a rush now, I formed bones and all of the other important structural parts.

Nearly an entire minute had passed since Claire had begun her thrashing, and it was over, so I knew that she was okay, for now. I ran one final check on everything, to make sure that everything was working and safe, before pulling my hands away from her.

I fell backwards and hot arms caught me. "Good job, Jenna." I heard a voice whisper as I fell into the blackness of sleep.

xXx

**Claire POV**

"Car…Carlisle, what…what happened?" I stuttered as I shook off the sick feeling that I was fighting at the moment. "I have no clue, Claire. It could be that somehow, the motion of your ride with Quil caused some vibrations in the amniotic fluid, or something similar.

"It could also be freak chance, and there was nothing that could have been done to prevent it. I suppose it could also just be part of the adaptation process. It may be that the fetus was having trouble adapting to your body's environment, and it was put under too much stress.

"Claire, there are millions of theories, but without Jenna fully conscious, and with several years of medical training to understand it, there is no way to know the exact why." He finished, sitting down in a chair.

Quil had grabbed my shoulders tightly, and he now lifted me up, so that he could slide under me, and pulled me tightly to his chest. "Are you okay, Claire? Nothing hurts, right now?"

"No, Quil, nothing hurts. Jenna did a good job of fixing me up, I think.

"Okay, Claire. I think that you should take some rest though. No activity of any sort for a while."

"But Quil, I-"

"No, Claire, Quil's right." Carlisle interrupted me. "Quil has a supernatural instinct for how to protect you, and his intuitive demand for you to relax is exactly what my medical demand would be."

"Humph." I grouched. I felt fine, nothing was wrong anymore. Why did Carlisle have to pull the 'medical reasons' card on me? He could have disagreed with Quil, because I knew that he didn't really think that there was anything wrong with me, but no. _Oh, shut it Claire._ A voice cut across my thoughts, and I recognized Quil's voice.

_You know, you're the only one who can place thoughts into my mind without me focusing on them, Quil. _ I told him. "It really is strange, isn't it?" Edward addressed my thoughts. "I mean, no one else that you have talked with can talk to you without you inviting them, yet he does it just as easily as you do."

_Perhaps it's just something else to do with the imprinting thing?_ Quil suggested.

"Hmm…I guess that it is possible. Oh well. Quil, why don't you take Claire up to your room? I think that some real, almost human rest is in order." He said, a sarcastic smile on his face.

_I hate you._ I thought at him.

_Be nice, Claire._ Quil thought into my head. He had made it all the way to our doorway by this time, and I was wondering something. _Quil, you know how you can communicate with me, and read my mind, and all of that stuff when we're touching? _I asked him.

_Yeah, what about it? Are you still wondering why that is?_

_Not really, but something similar._ I began my question. _Quil, what if you can do all of the other stuff that I can do, as well?_

…_What do you mean? _He asked, his confusion leaking through into my mind.

_I mean, how I can seal people within their own heads, I can force people to do things with no more than a simple command._ I gave him examples of times when I had done both of those, clarifying my explanation. _I don't know, Claire. Do you want to find out?_ He was very hesitant about this question, clearly not excited about this idea.

I thought over it for about half a second, running through the pros and cons. _Not right now. I think that we can wait until morning. _I answered him. I felt his mental sigh of relief as he heard this.

"You know, Claire? You're sort of like the Alpha of a pack. You can order people around, and they have to obey, no matter what it is." He said, a hint of a laugh in his voice.

_Yeah, you're right. Sing to me? _I always loved to hear Quil's voice, even though it wasn't the best in the world. "Come on, Claire. You know I'm not good at singing." He argued weakly, already deciding to sing, regardless. _Please, Quil? Don't make me force you._ I threatened this playfully, but he knew that if I wanted him to, I would do it.

"Fine. Plug your ears and protect the windows. And now, for the leading lady of the house, _L'esprit Chanteur._" He said theatrically, and he began to sing the lullaby that Edward had written for Quil's voice, specifically for my ears.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

**Jenna POV**

_I am so grateful for the four day weekend. _I thought as I clicked to the next page of my newest medical lecture. I had downloaded the chapters on pregnancy, so that I could be as prepared as possible for the rest of Claire's abnormal one. Twins I read the chapter title, finally arriving at possibly the most valid lecture in the whole set.

"Jenna, go to bed, it's almost one in the morning." Dad shouted from downstairs. _Stupid werewolf hearing. _I thought, getting up to close my door. "Fine, just let me do this one chapter. I finally got to twins, and I don't want to put it away yet. Please?" Begging usually worked the best with my dad. He always gave my mom what she wanted when she asked, and he would usually give anything to me if I begged. _Stupid imprinting. Why can't it have passed down to me?_ I grumbled. _Life would be so much easier._

"Fine, but you only have ten minutes, so only skim through it tonight. I don't want any of your long, three hour note-taking sessions tonight."

"Fine." I huffed, then added, "Thank you, Daddy." I turned back to my computer and began speed reading the chapter. _Grr. Why can't I be a vampire right now?_ Reading this whole forty-two page lecture would have been so much simpler if I had the vamps' super reading. I guess my part-vamp reading would have to do.

My random vampire mind kicked in just then, leading my thoughts entirely away from the pregnancy lecture; _I wonder if I can hurt people with my power, instead of just healing them?_ That would have been an interesting twist to my power. _I mean, I can manipulate things beyond what they are supposed to do, so why not manipulate them to do what they shouldn't?_

I had spent the entire time it took to change and get into bed speculating on the possibilities. I was drifting off to sleep when a light tap on my window startled me up. I dashed to the window and slowly slid it open, peering into the darkness. "Jenna!" A low voice called up from the ground, three stories down.

"Derek?" I whispered, recognizing the voice. "What are you doing here? And talk quieter, my dad has really, really good ears."

"Jenna, I need your help. You're really good with animals, and making them calmer and feeling better, right?" he asked, barely even letting breath out to keep his voice quiet.

"Yeah, why? Derek, is this major? I'm supposed to be asleep." I was getting annoyed. _Why did this guy come to my house in the middle of the freaking night, asking me if I was good with animals?_

"No, Jenna, I just wanted to drop by to see if you would talk to me, OF COURSE THIS IS MAJOR!" he nearly spoke the last part, scaring me silly. "Shut up you idiot! My dad will hear you!"

"Jenna, my dog is acting really, really weird. I need your help before he hurts someone! He's like, barking a lot, and snapping at anyone who comes near him. He hasn't eaten in nearly two days, and none of the nearby vets make house calls, for any reason! Please, I need your help!" His throat had started closing up, so I knew that he was dead serious. His dog was really scaring him.

"Fine, I'll be right there. Get away from the window." I said, throwing my leg over the windowsill.

"What? Jenna, you'll kill yourself!" he called, his voice still shaky from talk of his dog.

"No I won't, I do this all the tim-"

"Busted." A low voice said from behind me. I froze, dreading the owner of the deep voice. "What do you think you're doing, little lady? If you're going out with a boy, at two-thirty in the morning, shouldn't you at least tell your parents?" My dad was trying to be all old and responsible, his voice low and menacing. "Please, Dad, you heard the reason. Can't I just go? You know that I'll be perfectly safe, and I don't _like_ him, so nothing will happen. Please? He's really scared about his dog, and it's a big Doberman so it can actually hurt someone." I begged quickly, hoping to get out of here quick.

"Fine. Be home within an hour, though. You may not have school tomorrow, but I still don't want you to be a zombie all day. Go, fix his dog." He said, chuckling at the last part.

I swung my legs over the windowsill, and just dropped from the twenty foot high window. "Jenna!" Derek squeaked as I landed, and light thud the only noise. "Derek, chill. I'm a lot tougher than I look.

"When I get near your dog, don't freak out. His teeth won't hurt me, so there is nothing to worry about. Just please, relax a bit." I told him, walking quick enough that he had to keep up a slow jog.

"Jenna, what took you so long getting down here?" he asked, glancing back towards the house. I could hear my dad's heavy laughter from here, so he must have been hauling. _Good thing no one else needs to sleep much._ "My dad caught me sneaking out. He said that since I was 'going out with a boy at two-thirty in the morning,' that I should have told him. My dad is the best." I said, provoking another round of laughter from the now distant house.

"O…Okay." Derek stuttered, clearly surprised that my dad had let me out so easily. "My older brother is waiting with his car just over here." He said, turning off into the woods. I saw the car as soon as I looked towards it, the chrome glinting in the pale light. "Okay. Tell him to drive fast, I need to be back in an hour."

We arrived at Derek's small house in ten minutes flat. _Grandpa Edward would have made it in two._ I thought lightly, following them to the front door. All of the lights were on, and the front door was unlocked. A loud round of barking met us as we stepped up to the front stairs, and it got louder when Derek opened the door.

"There he is. Be careful." He said, pointing towards an angry looking Doberman, standing in a very defensive position against the fireplace. "Derek, get your family out of here. I don't want them to be in the way with any questions. You just sit there and keep quiet as well, okay?" I ordered. No human ever went against one of my orders, though why I didn't know. "Okay. Guys? Leave please. Jenna is going to fix Calix." _Calix? _ I thought, laughing quietly at the name.

I turned back to the dog, once the family left, who was letting out a feral growl, his intention clearly being to rip out my throat. I growled back, but it wasn't nearly as impressive as my dad's growl. Mine only made the dog bark at me again.

There was a small pool of spit laying on the ground, somewhat frothy. _Crap. He might have rabies. I hope I can fix that. _ "Derek, you have no idea what it could be, right?" I asked, not wanting to heal him if they thought that it was rabies. "Right, Jenna. We have thought of several things, but none of us are vets, and none of the vets will give a diagnosis without us bringing him in."

I started to walk forward, a calm look on my face. I knelt down, to be on the dog's level, and began to lightly say his ridiculous name. Calix lunged forward, and I stuck my arm out. His jaws clamped down, a funky pressure was the only indication that he was biting me as hard as he could. _Ha-ha. Weak, mortal dog._ I thought as I grabbed the skin behind his neck.

He didn't like that at all. He turned and attacked my other arm, so I swung my now free arm to wrap it around his neck. I then put my weight on him, and pinned him down to the ground, struggling uselessly against my inhuman strength. "Wow. Jenna, You're…you're tough." I heard Derek mutter from behind the couch.

I ignored him, reaching out into the dog's body. I scanned his whole body, but found nothing abnormal, so I then moved to his head._ Oh crap._ I thought as I felt the soft, squishy part in his head. _His brain is melting._ I could feel the excess heat radiating from his head without using my power, so I knew that I was right. _I'm no veterinarian! How am I supposed to fix him?_

I decided to start by calming him, blocking the parts of his brain associated with rage and physical movement. He immediately fell still, so I continued on my random search for the cause of the excess heat.

I found it in the hypothalamus, attacking all of the cells within. It was causing a major brain malfunction, offering no internal control to his temperature. _Oh, screw this. If he dies, he dies._ I then forced the virus causing the damage to die, destroying the outer coat that protected it. I then went about restoring the necessary cells, trying to rely on the brain's own knowledge of how to heal itself, then just speeding up the process. I returned its temperature to normal, and continued on the natural, speedy healing.

I felt it when Calix was done with his fit. His body relaxed against my head, and his mouth opened slightly, letting out his panting tongue. I did one final check on his body and brain, making sure that nothing bad remained. "There. Are you all better now, Calix?" I asked, picking up his head to cradle it in my hands. He stuck his tongue out, licking me sweetly. "Aww, that's a good boy.

"He should be fine now, Derek. Clean up the spit though, and use some disinfectant. It might have nasty germs that could make him psychotic again."

"He's better?! Wow! Thank you, Jenna! I knew that asking you was the right thing to do! Thank you!" He said, skipping over to his dog and petting him roughly on his head and neck.

"I'll take you home. How much do I owe you, Jenna?"

"Pffft. Please, Derek. My family is the richest family in town. How can I expect anyone to pay me for something? I mean, you're my friend. I fixed your dog. If I asked you to come fix…my video games? Yeah, that works. If I asked you to come fix my video games, would you ask me to pay you?"

"Well, probably not. Okay. Let's go." He said, dropping the topic of money.

We stepped out into the cool night air, and began walking back towards my house. "You know Derek, it is almost three miles to my house. I can walk alone, so that you don't have to walk all that distance, then come back alone. I'm tough. I'll be okay, really." We had gotten to the edge of the forest by this point, and I had made him stop so that he could think about going back. "That would be rude. I can't let you walk-"

"Sh. Wait, Derek." I cut in as I heard a very faint rustling in the woods, lighter than any human feet.

"Jenna?" he asked. I cut him off with a wave of my hand, listening intently.

I deathly white creature suddenly appeared in front of us, causing me to jump and Derek to scream. "How sweet, you brought, not only yourself, but a snack as well! Thank you, Jenna." The vampire crowed falsely, clapping his hands together in delight.

"Who are you? How do you know my name?" I asked, my voice slightly shaky.

"I am an…an emissary from Gerik. He wants to get revenge on Claire for trapping him at the bottom of the ocean. He had this one bond with me leftover from his time on the surface, so he changed the compulsion for me to find someone of the Cullens, and kill them."

I shook my head at him, trying to not freak out. I didn't think that I could handle a vampire on my own. That was difficult for Dad, or one of the other wolves to do. _How am I going to get out of this?_ I wondered, then I remembered Derek. "J-J-Jenna? Wh-who is this? Why does he want to kill you?"

"His friend raped my aunt, so my…mom got him arrested, and so this guy wants revenge, I guess." I said, shakily giving a human explanation. "Aw, sweet Jenna. Trying to keep the human in the dark, even though he is going to die soon." He then flashed forward, hitting Derek lightly in the chest. I heard a light crack and Derek flew backwards, hitting the ground hard, completely unconscious, _I hope._

The vampire then turned and grabbed my neck, lifting me off the ground. "Let go of me!" I screamed. I reached inside of his body, and found his arm. _Time to try me new idea._ I found the cells of his wrist, and I told them to split in half, shredding the cell membrane containing all of the special mini-organs.

There was a scream of splitting rock as I dropped, his hand still grasping my neck. His fingers then shuddered and were shredded into millions of tiny pieces, falling all around me. "What did you do?!" he screeched at me, stumbling back into the darkness. I turned and sprinted for Derek, hoping that he was still alive. I heard his faint heartbeat as I reached him, and knew that he would be okay. I grabbed his face and reached inside of him, feeling the splintered sternum almost piercing his heart. I moved the bone fragments like lightning, aligning them properly, then sealing them together.

I turned quickly to see the vampire charging at me from the forest. I flipped Derek about ten feet away, throwing him so that he would land without hurting anything. I stuck my palm forward, which connected with the vampire's chest. I threw force through my palm as it touched him, making all of the cells in his chest blow out his back.

The force of the exploding cells threw him back as well, and he landed on his feet, a gaping hole where his heart used to be. "What are you, child?" he asked savagely. He then flashed forward once again, grabbing me with his good hand.

"Let…me…go!" I shouted, struggling with his iron grip. I grabbed onto him with both arms, and entered his body with my mind. I began shredding any cell I could find, tearing him apart from the inside out. He dropped me, dropping me away from him. He fell to the ground, clutching his face and stomach.

I jumped forward and grabbed him again, finishing my current job; protecting my family and Derek. I began by disconnecting his legs, tearing his chest apart, and leaving his head there. I dropped to my knees, panting from exertion.

"Jenna?" a weak voice called to me from a short distance away. _Crap, Derek._ I thought, looking up to see his horrified expression. "Jenna…What are you?" he asked.

"Jenna!" a deep voice boomed from the forest. I turned to see my dad sprinting out from the woods. He slid down next to me, ignoring Derek entirely. "I'm okay, Dad. Really, he didn't hurt me. He tried, but he couldn't hold onto me long enough. I'm fine." I told him, trying to get him to get off. "Dad, Derek saw _everything_." Putting emphasis on 'everything' to tell him that Derek saw me tear apart the vampire.

"Mr. Black, what…what is happening here?" Derek asked shakily from his spot on the ground.

"Dad, clean up after me, I'll get him to the Cullens. We need to decide what to do now."

"No! I don't want to go to the Cullens! Jenna, I just saw you tear someone apart without anything but your fingertips!" he shrieked. I dashed towards him, stopping in front of his face.

"Sorry, Derek. This isn't your choice." I said as I touched his forehead. I cut off his senses temporarily, so that he was practically unconscious.

"Dad, be quick. His family is still awake." I said as I picked him up, his weight no more than a sandwich to my strength, and ran away from his house.

I arrived at the Cullen's place, calling for everyone to get down into the living room immediately. I entered, and found them already sitting there. _Grandpa._ I thought, using his name as an excuse for why they were all present.

"I've already explained to them what has happened, Jenna." Grandpa Edward said.

"So, what do we do? We can't just leave him as it is!" I said frantically.

"What about Claire?" Dad said as he entered behind me. _Wow, he's fast._ "Claire, can't you tamper with people's memories? You can read them, you can make people do things, why can't you affect them, or erase them?"

"That is actually a good idea, Jake." Grandpa said. "Claire, do you think that you can erase his memories of tonight? Well, except for the dog part. You can then just make him have walked Jenna home in some fake memories."

"Yes, I am quite sure that I can do that. Should I do it right now?" she asked, standing up slowly. Her stomach stretched oddly as she moved, the stage of her pregnancy now obvious. "No, I think that we should do it right at his house." I said, showing Grandpa Edward my plan.

"Yes, I'll go with her to help her know what to do." He said, and dashed out the door, Derek already in his arms. Claire ran behind him, and Quil followed, as everyone knew that he would.

**Claire POV**

I ran even slower than normal, due to my pregnancy, probably the speed of a very fast human. Quil was keeping pace with me as a human, and he was clearly worried about my running in my condition. "Just pick me up already, Quil. You know you want to." I said, laughing lightly at the end. He smiled at me, and flashed behind me to swoop me up in his arms.

We arrived at Derek's house much faster this way, and found Edward waiting at the edge of his yard. I smelled the heavy incense smell from deep in the forest, the evidence of Jenna's handiwork. "Claire, he is still awake, Jenna just cut off his senses so he thinks that he's unconscious. She said that it would wear off about twenty minutes after she set it, so we have about two minutes until he wakes up." Edward said as we entered Derek's back yard.

Quil set me down, and I jumped forward, landing next to Edward. I touched the boy's forehead, and delved into his mind. _You will remember nothing of this night, Derek. You never will, as it will be erased from your mind, forever._ I told him, feeling his shock as he heard my voice in his mind.

I then searched through his most recent memories, starting with when he and Claire left his back door. I deleted everything after that, and replaced it with my own imagination. He had walked Jenna home with no mishaps, then returned on his own. He was just now arriving back at his own house, completely fine.

I stepped back and Edward set him down. Somehow, his legs supported his weight, then I remembered what they had said about Alec cutting people off; they still stand, but they can't really do anything. They can move, but they can't feel or see anything to know it they are doing any damage.

Derek began to move, and Edward disappeared into the forest at that instant. Quil swept me up and ran off, following as close to Edward as possible. _That was close._ I told Quil as he ran.

_Yes, it was. He was very lucky that Jenna was here tonight, though. I think that the vampire was planning on hunting at Derek's house, regardless of whether she was there or not._ I saw Quil's mind track, going along the path that would have happened, had Derek not pulled Jenna from the house. _I guess that they are all lucky that Jenna has the ability that she does, or that would have ended badly for everyone._ Quil agreed with my statement, and continued to run in the silent darkness.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

**Claire POV**

The eggs slid down my throat easily, the taste making me cringe in disgust. _Ew. Stupid kids, making me eat __food__._ I thought glumly.

I was coming towards the end of the second year, and I couldn't wait the last year or two for the kids to be out. I was sick of human food, the dirt that I had to force down my throat. "Only two more years, Claire." Edward told me, trying to lighten things up.

"Edward, have you ever been pregnant for 4 years? I don't think so, so don't talk." I said, irritable from my current diet.

"Claire, come on. We're going to get your ultrasound done." Quil said, coming down the stairs. "Carlisle says that we should be able to find out their gender now." I slowly stood up from my seat, trying to rush up the stairs. I had waited for this for the last year, but the amniocentesis was unreadable.

"_These children are going to be very different, Claire". Carlisle said. "The amniocentesis that I did, gave me no results. Normally, we can find at least the chromosome count, but even that came up blank. We will have to wait for the ultrasound to do this Claire."_

I made my way into the spare room, which was probably going to be the permanent medical room soon. Lying down on the table, I pulled up my shirt, revealing my swollen stomach. "Alright Claire, hopefully this will give us more information than the other test." Carlisle said, smearing some nasty yellow jell over my stomach.

"Okay, here is the video panel, you should be able to see the two fetuses once I turn it on." He said, flicking some switches. He took the paddle, and placed it on my stomach. A small beep was accompanied by a humming, indicating that the machine was on. I looked to the screen, and saw the image of two small bodies moving.

"Okay, Claire, they are boys." Carlisle said, pointing to one of the bodies. The image grew larger, the one child filling the small screen. He pointed out all of the parts, indicating its gender. "Can I see the other one?" I asked. I had known that they would both be the same sex, but I had wanted at least one girl.

"Ouch!" I said, as a small burning took place in the center of my stomach. This was different than the normal burning, and the screen flashed bright white as it happened. As suddenly as it started, the burning and bright lights were gone.

"What the-" Quil said, more confused than anyone. Carlisle quickly replaced the paddle on my stomach, and I saw the two bodies, both looking the same as before. He zoomed in on the one, indicating that nothing had changed.

He then moved the paddle to the other side of my stomach, and the other fetus appeared on the screen. "Oh my. My goodness! This…this is…Look!" he said, pointing to the screen, flipping his fingers to different parts. It looked different than the other one. "Carlisle, what is it?" Quil asked, becoming concerned.

"Quil, Claire, I am beyond words." He said, his shock showing on his face. "Since both of these were spawned from the same cell, they should both have been the same sex. But now…They aren't. One is a boy, and the other…is a girl." He said, pointing to the parts of the second fetus, indicating that it was indeed a girl.

My air rushed out in a quick burst. "Wow." Was all that came out.

"Yes, wow." Quil said. His eyes were watching me carefully, reading my reaction. I felt a small smile growing on my lips, my eyes pricking with tears that would never come. "Are you okay, Claire?" he whispered, wrapping his arms around me gently. "Yes." I said, nodding. "Quil, it's amazing! Just before Carlisle showed me the girl, I had been wishing that one of them was a girl, even though I knew it couldn't happen."

"What?" Quil asked, pulling back to look at me. "Is that why you said 'ouch' before?"

"Yes, there was a slight burning, and the flash on the screen. I don't know what happened!" I said, my smile growing larger. Carlisle had left the room, giving us our time to talk alone. Well, as alone as possible with a house of vampires.

"Oh, Quil, I wish that they could be born right now so that I could talk to them! They looked so beautiful!" I exclaimed, my eyes, pricking more, still trying to cry the happy tears that couldn't fall.

"I agree, that would be wonderful." He said, pulling me close again.

I then felt a movement in my stomach, a pushing and stretching. "Quil…" I said, looking down. My stomach was rippling, expanding out. "Carlisle!" I said louder, growing scared.

"Claire, what is it-Ah!" Quil said, seeing my stomach in its strange dance. It was nearly twice the size it had been mere moments ago, still bouncing furiously.

A short, sharp pain then lanced through me, between my legs. I then felt liquid spilling out, drenching my pants. "Quil!" I screamed, just as Carlisle burst through the door.

Carlisle saw the wet liquid now falling to the floor, and said, "Claire, your second wish is coming true too. Your water just broke!" He flashed across the room, grabbing several surgical instruments. "Awake or not?" he asked me quickly.

"Not. Definitely not. Just, wake me up when they're out." I said, Bella bursting through the door. I felt something slip underneath my mind, and then nothing.

**Quil POV**

Claire slumped in my arms, knocked unconscious by Bella's shield. "Quil, get ready to receive the kids." Carlisle said, pulling up the surgical barrier to give Claire a bit of privacy.

It was a mere five minutes later when the crying started. A shrill scream rang through the room, followed immediately by another. "Quil…" He said, holding two blankets out towards me. I grabbed them, and he handed the babies to me, one by one.

The first one was the girl. I took her, wrapping her in the blanket, very gently, looking down at her face, her eyes closed as her mouth screamed out its newborn tears. I shifted her weight to take the second one, the boy. He was more pouting now, than crying. His eyes were still closed tightly, but instead of a shriek, a small whine came out, an occasional mumble in-between.

"I need to sew up this C-section. Bella, you can wake Claire soon." Carlisle said, reaching for a needle and some thread. I moved over to the small couch on the other side of the room, sitting down in a comfortable position. I set the boy down on my lap, using both arms to clean the girl's hair.

Her hair was nearly seven inches long, a dark brown, lighter than Claire's, and she already had a full set of teeth in her tiny mouth. _How in the world did this happen?_ I wondered silently, wondering at the miracle that was before me. Her skin shone lightly, the light reflected by the water still present. Her skin was a light brown, very similar to that mine. She truly was Quileute through and through.

I gently switched their positions, taking the boy up in my arms. His hair was shorter, but the same shade of brown, and his skin glistened as well. He had stopped crying, and was sleeping soundly. I reached my finger down, opening his mouth slightly. I saw that he had all of his teeth as well.

His weight shifted suddenly, and I felt him waking up. His heart rate picked up, his breathing becoming shallower. His eyes opened, staring into mine, and I froze.

Dead black eyes stared up at me, the black plane interrupted by golden flecks. I felt myself falling into them, becoming consumed. I fell, and I was no longer in the room at the Cullens' house, but floating among billions of stars. All around me, galaxies flew, stars twinkled, and blackness reigned. I looked around, and a group of stars shone more brightly than the rest. I recognized the hunter of the stars, and his form filled my vision. "Orion." I whispered, and I felt myself flung backwards, away from the stars and the great hunter.

I was sitting back in the hospital room, the boy's eyes closed once again._ Orion. That's his name._ I thought, but his eyes opened once again, and I knew that he heard me. His eyes closed again, the universe shut off from my vision.

I set Orion down, taking the girl into my arms again. I gently stroked her face, and I felt her wake as well. She shifted, and her eyes opened, the same eyes as her brother. This time, however, I didn't fall. The empty blackness and stars began to move. I saw the entire universe in her eyes, everything that ever was filled my mind. As with her brother, the vision focused on a single group of stars, this one foreign to me. The outline of a woman became apparent, and a single word intruded into my thoughts; _Virgo._ It said. Not a word, a name.

She blinked, and the vision returned to encompass the entire universe. I looked away, focusing on her nose instead of becoming lost in space again. _You're Virgo, aren't you?_ I asked silently, and her head bobbed quickly, her eyes closing.

I had just picked up Orion again, letting them both sleep in my hot arms, when Edward stepped calmly into the room. "Quil, what just happened?" he asked, confusion marring his face.

"Edward, I have no idea. There is something really weird with these kids."

"Yeah, no kidding! One of them changes gender, during Claire's second trimester, then they are born five minutes later! And not just born, born perfectly healthy, as though they had lived through all nine months!"

"Don't forget being sucked into their eyes, into the universe, to find out their names." I said quietly, and I heard Bella and Carlisle freeze behind Edward. "What?" They both asked, shocked by this revelation.

An earsplitting scream filled the room at that moment, and all eyes turned back to Claire. "Stop the burning! Not again!" she cried, clutching at her stomach in pain.

"Bella, you're going to have to shield her again. The babies are gone, so the werewolf cells keeping the vampire venom at bay have no purpose. They left along with the amniotic fluid, so she is returning to normal. Well, vampire." Edward amended.

Claire's screams cut off immediately, Bella shielding her from the pain again. "So, Quil, what was that you said? About falling into their eyes?" Carlisle asked, turning back to me.

"Wait, where's Rosalie?" Edward asked, looking around. "Oh well. She'll be back." He said, turning back to me for my answer. I pitched my voice lower, trying to let Orion and Virgo sleep. "Their names were already chosen, not by any living thing. When I looked into the boy's eyes, I saw the universe.

They have no irises, or at least they are indistinguishable from their pupils. It is just a plane of black, with golden specks interrupting it. When you stare into his eyes, you start falling. When you stop falling, you're in the middle of space, surrounded by every galaxy, every star that there is." I continued to explain how I had learned his name.

"It is the same with the girl, except I didn't fall into her eyes. With her, it was as if my perception had been infinitely broadened, as I could see everything, but I was still here in the room.

"They are also psychic, like Edward. At least, somewhat. When I first learned Orion's name, I thought, 'Orion, that's his name.' And then I felt his recognition. It seems that they also have a bit of Nessie's power in them, because I felt his agreement in my mind, and he didn't move any more than closing his eyes again. Virgo nodded, but she still heard my thoughts." I finished my explanation to them, looking back down at the two sleeping figures.

**Rosalie's POV**

I heard the crying above me start, the two children born perfectly. I exploded from the house, glad that Emmett was out hunting with Jasper, and Edward absorbed with Alice trying to find their future.

I raced to the garage, flying into my M3, and gunned it into reverse, sliding out into the long driveway. I whipped it around without stopping, changing gears immediately. I flew forward, gunning it as hard as I could through the trees.

I flew along the road, taking back roads and detours to avoid policemen, and to throw off the trail of where I was going. I finally got to the empty freeway, and picked my speed up to nearly two-hundred-fifty miles per hour. I was glad that I was a vampire, and my senses could keep me from hitting anything, or being seen by anyone.

I thought about my plan, and ways that I could refine it as I drove. An hour had passed, and I entered the Washington state border. _Only half an hour left at this rate._ I thought, as I pushed my car to its very high limits, racing towards La Push.

**Claire POV**

I woke up, and I felt completely whole again. _Where are they?_ I asked Edward, searching for the twins with my senses. I felt my stomach, perfectly smooth and cold once again, a vampire's stomach.

I rose from the bed, and saw Quil sitting on the couch, two perfect little angels in his arms. I flashed next to him, and knelt down at his side. "They're beautiful." I murmured, staring at their perfect faces. "Have you thought of names yet?" I asked, not expecting his long answer.

"Yes, but I think that you will see why, even if you don't like them. Claire, this one is Orion," he said, pointing to the boy, "And this is Virgo." He indicated to the girl.

"And let me guess, their middle names are Gemini?" I said sarcastically.

"That's not a bad idea. Are the names okay? If not, I'm sorry, but I didn't choose them. We couldn't change their names even if we wanted to." He truly looked sorry at saying this, and I was now confused. He saw this and continued talking "Claire, I can't explain it right. Once Orion wakes up, he'll help you understand. Just trust me, okay?"

"Of course I trust you! And frankly, I kind of like the names, they just seem really random to me." I told him, getting up onto the couch. I slid one arm behind him, and used my free hand to stroke Virgo's hair. "They really are beautiful." I whispered, turning my head to look at Quil.

"I only know of one thing that is better than these two." He said softly, his eyes full of hidden meaning. The meaning didn't stay hidden for long, as I realized what he meant. I reached my face up, and I kissed him gently.

He smiled after a few seconds, and pulled back. "Claire, the kids are watching." I looked down, and saw their eyes open, looking up at Quil. Virgo turned her eyes towards me, and I felt as though she were staring into my soul. Her eyes took up my attention, and I found myself staring into a world I had never thought about before.

Billions of eyes stared back at me, and a few glowed brighter than the others. I recognized the constellation of Virgo, the Virgin, and her outline became apparent. I shifted my focus within her eyes, and I found that I could watch all of space at once. I saw a certain galaxy, and it pulled my attention. I focused in on it, and I found myself staring at the nine planets in our own solar system. I saw earth, and focused on it.

The blue and green planet took my view, and I was able to see every house, every individual person on the planet. I thought of myself, and my vision zoomed straight over to our house, and the camera passed through the roof. I saw myself, staring down into Virgo's eyes, Quil watching me with wonder.

Virgo blinked, and my vision was cut off. I stared down at the little girl in Quil's arms, and realized that I was in shock. _Quil, is that what you meant?_ I thought at him, unable to speak.

_Yes. Orion is similar, except instead of remaining in your body looking at a video screen, you are taken into the vision._ He explained, and then continued._ When you look around, you see the stars making up his constellation._ I now understood why we couldn't change their names.

_Earlier, Edward was saying how these kids aren't just kids. They have something going on with them. Edward read their minds, and they were more complex than any he had ever seen before._

_Carlisle has a theory, but I don't know if it is good, or bad. Claire, you know how you made those wishes before they were born? Well, Carlisle thinks that they granted them. These two don't just show us the universe, Claire. I think they __are__ the universe._


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

_These two don't just show us the universe, Claire. I think they __are__ the universe._

I remained completely still. The baby girl in my arms had closed her eyes again, and I felt her breathing deepen. I focused on that to keep myself from losing it completely. "Claire? Are you okay?" Quil asked, leaning his head around to look at me. I took a deep, unnecessary breath before nodding my head.

_Quil, what do you think will happen from here?_ I asked mentally, still unable to use my voice._ I mean, they can read minds, they can change their form, they can watch over the entire universe…_ I broke off there, unable to think about their possibilities anymore. _Claire, I think that we should raise them as normal kids, and just let them grow up as they do. _He said, trying to calm me down. "Claire, I think that it will be similar to raising Nessie, as they are smarter than they should be. I think that we are just going to have to watch out for them, and be loving parents. That's all that we really can do." He took his left arm from Orion, placing it around my shoulder. He pulled me into a loving embrace, further calming my raging thoughts.

We stayed in that position for hours, Quil falling asleep while holding me, the two werepire babies sleeping between the two of us. "Werepire huh?" Edward asked, coming into the room.

"Yeah. I used to play this one game, and there were these creatures called werepires. They weren't half-breeds, but wolves that had been bitten while transformed. I didn't like them much." I told him, just wanting to speak. I had remained silent for entirely too long, and I felt like my throat would seize up if I went much longer.

"Well, Claire, I think that it is entirely appropriate to call these two angels, for more reasons that they are beautif-"

"Guys!" Alice screamed from downstairs. Quil jolted awake, and Edward dashed from the door in mid-sentence. I carefully picked up Virgo, while Quil grabbed Orion, both of us careful about not jostling their still sleeping figures.

Down in the main living room, we found Alice lying on the couch, Jasper kneeling by her head with a worried expression. "What happened?" Bella asked, as the rest of the family appeared in the room.

"Demetri…" Alice said, her voice incredibly weak, especially for a vampire. Edward gasped at what Alice was showing him, and then turned to face us. "Demetri was in the area a few hours ago. He had decided to keep tabs on us while here, and Alice saw him feel the twins' birth. He decided to not make any firm decisions, but just now he left to tell Aro."

"So, why is Alice like this?" Emmett asked loudly, his raucous nature preventing much seriousness in his voice. Jasper glared at him while Edward answered, "Because, as soon as she saw Demetri touching Aro's hand, the entire future of the Volturi disappeared. Anyone who was ever a part of their group, is gone."

A buzz ran throughout the room, and everyone began looking, unable to locate it. A silent shout directed us all towards Orion, now sitting up in Quil's arms. "Whoa…cool kid." Emmett said, staring at Orion. Suddenly, an idea popped into my head, and I saw an odd look on everyone's faces, showing that they had gotten an idea too. "Did he just-" Jasper asked, looking shocked.

"Yeah…He did." Edward said.

"I think that's a pretty good idea. This kid's smart!" Emmett said.

"Only one problem." Carlisle broke in, stopping before the real excitement was formed. Orion looked over to Carlisle briefly, and his little face became a pout. I suddenly felt the knowledge of what Carlisle was thinking break into my mind. "Oh, yeah. Good point…" I said, looking at Carlisle. Everyone looked at the ground as this point entered their minds as well.

Orion's head bolted up just then, and the mood picked up as another idea was sent out. "Alright, can we stop this!" Alice shouted, sitting up from the couch. "Can we please get these ideas out in the open, just so that I don't think that everyone else is getting a different thing? It's killing my head, and my nerves which are already frayed from Demetri!"

The small boy glared at her, showing more emotion than even Nessie had, when she was this young. "Fine. Talking is boring though." He said out loud, much to everyone's shock. His voice was the very high soprano of a baby's wail, but it was ordered into perfectly articulated sounds. It even contained the tone of annoyance, almost as if he were whining for food instead of submitting to speaking aloud.

"Holy crap! What is with this kid?" Emmett boomed, voicing the surprise before anyone else. Orion turned his glare to Emmett, whose jaw clacked shut with a snap.

Breathing an irritated sigh, Orion said quickly, "Okay, the first idea was: Someone watches the entire Volturi group through me or Virgo, since Alice can't see them anymore.

"Then, Grandpa shut down this idea, thinking that it would be a huge hassle, as one of us would need to be awake all the time, and at least one person would be completely removed while watching.

"Finally, I proposed that instead of anyone of you watching them, we can just keep an eye on them. While we sleep, we can choose what we dream. We can choose to dream of what the Volturi are doing right then, and we will remember every detail with perfect clarity when we wake up. There, happy?" he said, finishing.

The entire rant had gone mostly unheard, only picked up in everyone's peripheral hearing. The full focus of the room was still on the child who was merely a few hours old, who had just spoken several full paragraphs more perfectly than a lot of human adults.

The room buzzed again, another idea floating out. "Humph." Orion grumbled in his tiny voice, continuing to speak. "No, Edward, we can't just 'make Alice see' again. I don't know why, but something bigger than me is blocking the Volturi. Hey! That rhymed! 'Something bigger than me is blocking the Volturi. Something…' " He trailed off, singing the silly rhyme several times out loud. He then fell silent, but was still doing a little baby dance to the beat of the new song.

We all sent uneasy looks around the room. "Okay, this kid's funky, that's for sure." Emmett said, voicing all the opinions once again. "Some-thing bigger than me, da-dum, is blocking the Vol-turi." Orion continued singing happily, breaking the words into more of a broken rhythm.

"So, the kids who are just born are going to be watching the most powerful force in the vampire kingdom. Wow, I feel incredibly safe now." Emmett said sarcastically.

xXx

Not even a week had passed, and already the Volturi watch was annoying. Orion spent most of the time with his eyes closed, while Virgo was forced to speak for him, since he couldn't really do anything physical while in Volterra. Virgo preferred to speak mentally, putting words into people's heads, instead of their ears. When she spoke for Orion, she spoke out loud so that she didn't have to say, 'Orion says…'.

Alice was lying on the couch just now, feeling completely useless. The Volturi had decided to not really do anything for a long time, but she couldn't see to tell us when that 'long time' was.

Virgo suddenly came sprinting out of the other room, running as fast as her tiny infant's legs could take her. _Mommy, mommy!_ She called silently, jumping up into my arms.

_What is it, honey?_ I asked her, thinking in her direction like I would for Edward. The great thing was, I didn't need to enter the twins' minds to talk to them. It saved a lot of time.

_Mommy, look at what I can do!_ She said, holding her hands up in the air. She opened her mouth, and began waving her hands slowly, like a conductor of a band. After a measure, the sound of an electric guitar filled the room. After counting out a basic beat, an electric violin joined in. I stared at her in shock as it began playing a Christmas song.

The violin slowed down after about 10 seconds, and then several instruments exploded into the air. I immediately recognized The Trans-Siberian Orchestra's 'Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24. The instrumental chorus rang out, as though a live orchestra were playing straight from her mouth. Her hands had split off to conduct different things, her left hand holding the quickened tempo, her right hand instructing the invisible orchestra in the dynamics of the piece.

The electric violin came to the big finish, and I stared into empty space, utterly shocked. Quil walked in, his mouth dropping open as Virgo dropped her arms, no CD player in sight. Edward exploded down the stairs, his expression matching that of Quil and me. The other members of the family followed, clearly worried by Edward's confusion.

_Isn't that song pretty, Mommy? Uncle Edward let me listen to one of his CD's, and I wanted to play that one. I made him teach me the right way to conduct it, so that I could play it for you. Isn't it a pretty song?_ Her tiny voice asked me in my head, completely oblivious to all the shocked family members behind her. _Daddy! Isn't that song so pretty?_ She called over to him, breaking his frozen position. He crossed over to her, and I heard in her head, _…Yes, that is a very pretty song, Virgo. I think that's wonderful that you learned it! Hey, I've got an idea, why don't you go and learn some more songs? I'm sure that you can do it, even without Uncle Edward's help. You're very smart. Did you know that?_ He asked, making her very happy.

_Yay! Daddy thinks I'm smart! _She called this out for everyone to hear, then scrambled down from my arms. _I'm going to go learn My Song, the one that Uncle Edward plays for me!_ She called, running towards the stairs. She jumped up them, six at a time, and quickly disappeared from view.

"What…What was that?" Quil asked, turning to me.

"I have no idea. She just ran up to me, and started conducting towards the air. Then _that_ came out." I said, waving at nothing.

"She was _playing." _Edward said, drawing everyone's attention. "She was focusing on each of the vibrations that my stereo made, as it played the song. I think that she then figured out how to copy those vibrations, _exactly, _with her vocal chords. She only conducts to help order her thoughts on what instrument plays where."

Eleven pairs of eyes stared at him in shock, absorbing the fact that she could do that. "She magnified the vibrations by making the air rumble in on a much larger scale. That is how the sound seemed to come from the room itself." Edward continued, oblivious to our stares.

"So…the kid can control the air now." Emmett said, breaking a silence that lasted almost a minute.

"Not only that, Emmett, she can control with such finesse, that she can make perfect sounds. There is no telling what she could do, if she became violent, with that level of control at such a young age." My eyes turned to Carlisle, who had spoken this last comment. "Carlisle, do you think that she knows what she is doing?" I asked him, but my answer came from Edward.

"Yes, Claire. She knows exactly what she is doing. That is how I know so much. She was thinking about it as she listened to the song, and then playing around with it a little bit, but I didn't really notice. Then she came out to you to show you, and it all became very clear."

A loud crash, followed by a scream, came from upstairs. We all burst up the stairs, nearly tearing the walls apart with our speed, into the room that Virgo's scream came from. We all stopped when we entered, frozen by what we saw.

Virgo was on the bed, crying and screaming, while pointing to the window/wall of Edward's room. In the center of the large glass wall, there was a huge hole, jagged and big enough for a full grown person to step through. "Honey, what happened?" I said, grabbing her up into my arms, trying to calm her down. Through her, I felt Jasper work his power, and she stopped screaming, but tears still ran down her face.

"I…I…I saw…I saw a…a bug." She said, sniffles breaking up her sentence. "It scared me, because it was yucky and brown, so I waved…my hand at it, trying to make it go away, but it wouldn't listen! I…I got mad…So I tried pretending to throw something at it, wanting…wanting to scare…scare it away!" She had calmed down more, but sniffs and sobs still interrupted her occasionally. "But then…then after I pretended to throw something, the wall…exploded out into the yard! It scared…scared me! I didn't want to break the wall! I…I…I…Waaaaah!" She began wailing again, burying her face into my shoulder.

I had just started comforting her, when a tiny hand pushed between me and Quil, followed by a whole body. Orion walked over to the window, and stopped to stare. He let out a large sigh, shaking his head.

The air buzzed, his silent thoughts telling us to watch. He raised his hands, palms up, and curled his fingers, as if inviting someone to come closer. Nothing happened. He grumble, then lifted one arm high above his head, and all of the broken glass rose up from the ground, entering our view. We gasped in shock, even the tiniest fragments floating beyond the broken window.

Orion then curled his fingers again, calling the glass forward. He began waving his raised hand in front of him, and the glass flew to different positions, rearranging itself.

After seven seconds, the window was nearly perfect, only cracks remaining of the damage. Little Orion then clenched his fist, and each crack began to glow a vibrant red, casting a light which illuminated the entire room. The whole broken section of the window then blurred together, the cracks melting and mixing with each other.

The glow then became white, blocking out even a vampire's view of what exactly was happening. As suddenly as it started, the glow faded, revealing an absolutely perfect window, as if it had just been replaced.

Orion turned around, walking back towards me. He climbed up my leg, hanging from my neck to tap Virgo's crying shoulder. I felt the buzz that entered her mind, and she looked at him. A second buzz directed her to the window, and she squealed in delight. _Yay! Thank you, Orion! You fixed the window! And no bug!_

Orion then turned his attention to us, and spoke with his tiny voice. "The Volturi are acting as though they have forgotten all about us. Can we please take a break? I want to do stuff besides sit in my room, watching old people in Italy!" The tiny whine of his voice brought back some of the feeling that he really was only about a week old, instead of the thirty year old that he pretended to be.

"Hmmm…Thirty seems a bit old. How about a teenager? Yeah, I like that more." He said, and then his eyes stared off into space, focusing on something else.

"How about, not right now. Okay, Orion? I think your parents want more than one week with you as an infant." Edward said, putting his hand on Orion's shoulder.

"Hah, fine. I'm going to go and watch the Clorans. They are funny." He said, sliding down to the floor and walking back to the other room. A strange silence followed, then Emmett said, "The what?"

**Alright, a lot of people won't know what Clorans are. I can't remember which book I took the name from, but it is either Animorphs, or Pendragon. I think it was Pendragon, in which case the Clorans are people, except they live on a planet with no land whatsoever. They are introduced in the second book, 'The Lost City of Faar', and the way they live is pretty cool. They built massive barges, which hold the cities. I can't explain it right, so if you want to find out more, I suggest you read the book. It's a really good series.**


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

**Emmett POV**

I was getting worried about Rosalie. It had been nearly three hours since my return with Jasper from hunting, and I hadn't heard anything from her. "Alice, I will you please look for her again?" I asked, begging for the fourth time in half an hour. "Emmett! Shut up! I can't see anything anymore, _including _Rosalie! I think that there is a bigger issue here, than where your wife went for a few hours!" Alice screamed, her voice reaching a pitch almost too high to hear.

I really couldn't care less about Alice's vision, at the moment. No matter what she said, nothing was more important than where my Rosy had gone. _Edward, I'm going to look for her. Alice is worthless._ I thought this loudly, projecting it up to Edward, who was playing with Virgo, along with Claire and Quil. _That man is obsessed._ I thought pitifully, closing the front door behind me.

It had started raining, and I could barely make out her scent. I made it to the garage, where her car was missing. There was no way I could follow her scent in a car, and the rain would wash it away before I found where she was going.

_Think, Emmett, think! Where would she go, without telling anyone? _I came up at a loss, so changed my thoughts processes. _Okay, what does Rose want more than anything, even me?_ It hurt to think about that, especially the 'more than me' part. _Only one thing…To be human. But, we haven't found a way yet, and if it was even possible, the twins are the only ones that I could imaging doing that. So, what is after becoming human?_

My mind skimmed over several possibilities, but I discarded them all, as she could have anything that she wanted. _Anything…except a k- Oh Crap!_ I swore for nearly two seconds, finally realizing what she was after. We had found a way for vampires to get pregnant.

I needed to scream, shout out loud at something. "EDWARD! I'M TAKING THE VANQUISH!" I blasted into the garage while I shouted, my thoughts running over every awful thing that could happen to Rose.

_Oh…Oh no. Werewolves…A vampire…Oh no._ I gunned the engine, the tires squealing out of the garage. I flipped around, shifting into first without stopping, then gunned the engine again. _Rose, please, please don't get to La Push before me. Please._ I pleaded silently, hoping that someone would stop her.

**Claire POV**

I jumped onto the bed, right next to Quil, intentionally making it ripple, bouncing him several inches into the air. Laughing, he grabbed me into one of his scorching hugs. "Now, what did you go and do that for?" he asked as I shuddered lightly.

"Are you feeling ticklish?" he asked, an evil smile growing on his face. His fingers crept from my neck, down to my stomach. He knew that he couldn't hurt me with the ribbing, so he always tried tickling. It never worked.

I smiled lightly at his attempts as his fingers crawled over my stomach, trying to coax a reaction. My legs jerked straight out as a shudder ripped through my body, shock crossing my face. "Gotcha." Quil said, stroking my sides and stomach in a pattern he hadn't before.

I gasped as the tickling continued, and I couldn't even move to stop it. He had found a weakness in my vampire skin. I felt my eyes prick, as I began gasping, the horrible sensation torturing me. A looked to his face, his impish grin staring down at me.

"Well, that could come in handy." He said, changing the pattern he was tracing. I jerked my arms up, and we began wrestling, him for control of my stomach, me to avoid the awful tickling. Occasionally, one of his fingers would graze my side, and I would jerk out of reach, but it would give him the leverage to give me a true tickling.

After nearly two whole minutes of wrestling control away from each other, I had his hands pinned in front of him, out of reach of my stomach. He surprised me, and jerked his head forward, pressing his lips to my neck. I froze, releasing his hands. _What is that?_ I asked, and I felt him slide into my mind completely, sharing his knowledge.

It was instinct. The urge to kill me, had changed with his imprinting. Now, instead of ripping my throat out to kill me, he kissed my throat to render me completely distracted, utterly limp.

He raised his face up to stare into my eyes, relinquishing control of my body back to me. _Wow._ I thought, and I could feel his amusement at finding a weak spot that he could use. _I wondered if that would work. It looks like it did._ He said, lowering himself so that he was just above me, but still holding his entire weight on his elbows.

_I guess it's a good thing that neither of the kids sleep in the same room as us. With their intelligence, that could have scarred them for life._ I thought at him, imagining the twins staring at us, horrible images being burned into their memories forever. _Oh, come on. It's not like we did anything. I just happened to find your weakness, making you puddy in my hands. Now, that could have led to something…_

_And it still might._ I thought back seductively. I reached my freed arms up to his neck, pulling him down the short distance to kiss me.

Just as he deepened the kiss, heating things up a bit, a shudder ran through the air, a second heartbeat becoming evident. We turned from our positions to find a girl staring at us, around fifteen years old. Her sleek brown hair ran straight down her back, nearly lost in the dark of the night. Her brown skin looked oddly familiar, and her scent…her scent was almost exactly like…

"Claire, Quil, you need to listen to me." She said, her voice that of a fully grown woman, not a fifteen year old girl. I looked up to her eyes and nearly died, if that were possible, of shock. Her eyes were midnight black, interrupted by flecks of gold and white, like staring into outer space. "Virgo…" I said, and Quil gasped as he saw the eyes as well.

"Mom, shush. Where is Orion?" Her voice was growing in intensity, as though she had some great influence behind her. And she did. Both me and Quil stared at our grown daughter, feeling as though she had more knowledge and power than any being we had ever seen before. "Mom! Dad! Where is Orion?" She screamed, becoming strangely frantic. A high pitched wail then rang through the house, startling everyone. "Orion!" she screamed, bolting from the door. We followed her just as fast, and nearly crashed into the other members of the family as they tried cramming into the doorway. Everyone froze as they took in the scene in the twins' room.

A man, around twenty-six years old, stood in the middle of the room, Alice in a chokehold while his free hand held Orion against his hip. Virgo was nowhere to be seen. I then realized that a faint glow was emanating from his hand, pressed against Alice's head.

"Move, and she dies." Said a cold, hard voice. It came from the man, who had the same dark hair as Virgo, the same light brown skin. "Orion, stop. Let them go." She said. We gasped in shock, all eyes returning to the man holding the two hostages.

"Oh no, sister dear, I need this little one, right here." He said, bouncing Orion lightly. His eyes were closed, his breath still that of a deep sleep. "This one, however…" he said, shifting Alice a little, "She is entirely dispensable. You only get her if you don't move."

"Where is Virgo?" Virgo asked, referring to her younger self. "What have you done with her?"

"As you can see, nothing. If I had done anything to her, you would not be here now, would you? No, she was not in the room when I came.

"Now, I really must be going. I think that a short blip in everyone's memories would be prudent, don't you think?" He asked. A loud crash sounded from behind him, as the back wall was shattered into millions of fragments, torn away from the house completely. "Orion, stop!" Virgo screamed as his eyes began to glow lightly. "No one look at him!" she screamed, staring at him with her hands extended, her hair whispering behind her head.

A breeze began blowing into the room, and I averted my gaze, staring at Alice instead of Big Orion's now shining eyes. "Oh no you don't, Bella dearest." He said, shaking his head lightly. He took a deep breath, and then let it gust out. "No!" Virgo screamed as we were all picked up off the ground. We were tossed backwards, like rag dolls, and a flash of light came from behind us.

I felt three walls shatter on my back before I hit the ground in the front yard. I slid nearly twenty feet away from the house, and jerked up immediately. Jenna leaped from a large hole in the house, a small Virgo in her arms. She sprinted out, and gently set Virgo in front of me. She turned and sprinted over to Bella. At least, I thought it was Bella.

I saw a still mass, glowing like the sun at noon. I rushed over, to see Bella lying in the grass, completely still and glowing, as though made of diamonds, lit with an internal light. Jenna was crouched down next to her, her hands pressed onto her skin as hard as possible. "No, no, no, no! No, please Bella! Come back! No, no, no!" She screamed, tears flying from her face.

My mind was entirely blank as to what was happening; Bella was posed as though for a picture, except her expression was that of shock, instead of a normal smile. Even her eyes were open, but she was completely clear, and unresponsive. It was as though she were truly just a mass of a clear crystal, shining with a strange inner light.

An older, cruel looking Orion had shown up, taking the young Orion. _Orion._ I thought suddenly. _He had Orion. He kidnapped Orion! _"Orion!" I screamed, flashing towards the house. I leapt up to the new hole in the house, smashing a new one in my haste to get back to the small room.

I exploded into the room, freezing at the scene of horror in front of me. Alice lay shivering in Jasper's arms on the floor, her eyes completely blank, seeing nothing around her. A gaping hole stretched across the wall facing the forest, all the furniture of the room tossed against the wall holding the door. There was nothing else there, as if the room had merely been robbed and torn apart, a person being harmed in the process.

I collapsed to my knees, searching out of the house with my senses, searching anywhere I could for my lost child.

Hot arms wrapped around me, pulling me into a very tight embrace, but nowhere near tight enough. Tearless sobs escaped my throat, my body shaking with earthquake tremors. Hot tears dripped onto my arms, and I breached Quil's mind, seeking his mind as an escape from all the pain.

I found no relief within his mind, however. Our thoughts and torments blended together, neither of us able to separate which pain belonged to who; It was all our pain, there was no separation.

**Virgo POV**

I saw my mother rush back into the house, followed almost immediately by my daddy, Quil. I wanted to follow them, but something more important called to me. I turned my head towards the small gathering on the front lawn, and my mind flipped back to Bella.

The ground beneath me exploded, and I was flying through the air towards the glowing statue. I landed right next to her, falling on Jacob's strong shoulders. Jenna was crying over her, one hand firmly pressed on her stomach, the other pounding against her chest, her arms, everywhere. Jacob stared in shock, unable to tear his eyes away from his former love. Nessie was clutching Jacob tightly, her face buried in his shoulder.

Edward…Edward was the worst. His face was dead, just like it was when she was pregnant with Nessie. I had seen those memories in his head, and I hated them. I wanted to erase them, but I couldn't. I had tried, but I just couldn't touch them, or any other memories he hated.

Edward had Bella's still head cradled in his lap, his dead eyes staring down into her lifeless face. A flash of inspiration suddenly came to me, and I had an idea for returning her to normal. _I hope it works. _

I had started to speak normally, preferring to hear my own voice instead of just putting it into their heads. "Guys, I have an idea." I said, expecting all of their heads to turn to me. "Guys! Uncle Ed!" I yelled, but they continued to ignore me, crying almost too loud to hear myself. _Fine._ I thought.

I then shouted at them silently, forcing my presence into all of their minds. I filled them all with my voice, banishing all other thoughts from their minds. Each face in the group turned to stare at me, except for Edward. He would not be denied, so I ignored him. "You guys, try kissing her." I said, suggesting my idea. It sounded silly now that I had said it. _Well, it's like a fairytale princess. If you kiss them while they are in a deep sleep, then they wake up! If you kiss a frog, he'll turn into a prince! Why can't we kiss a statue, and turn her into a vampire?_ I thought, but then realized, _This isn't a fairytale spell. It's a nightmare curse._

Edward leaned in to kiss her though, and just as I now suspected, nothing happened. I let my presence fade from their minds, and I began to cry for Bella. _How do I fix this? Who could do such a thing except...Orion._ The realization of who had done this to her broke into my mind like a train. _How could he? Why would he do this to her?_ An even better question entered my mind then. _How do I undo it?_

I immersed myself in the minds of everyone, hoping for some form of inspiration. I received no help, however.

Claire and Quil were drowning in sorrow.

Carlisle and Esme were still in shock.

Jacob had turned to comforting Nessie, receiving a minor form of comfort in turn, both of them crying too hard to think anything clearly.

Edward was empty, his thoughts dead.

Jasper was hugging Alice, sending intense calming waves into her.

Her mind was nearly as blank as Edwards, her memory severely damaged.

Jenna was still trying to revive her, but could do nothing with the rock beneath her hands.

Emmett and Rosalie were nowhere to be found.

The older me was gone.

I sat there among shattered minds, all filled with grieving thoughts and despair. It was too much for me to handle. I reached out, entering the soul of the entire universe. I had never done this before, and had no clue what I was capable of here, but I had only one thought; Stop this suffering.

I screamed for everything to stop, and a cold silence stretched out around me. I reached out and crushed all movement, all thought. I did not harm anything, but I ceased everything. Nothing moved, nothing breathed.

Time was dead around me, and I was completely alone.

**Alright, this is the end of this story, and I think that it is the biggest cliffhanger in the history of forever. There will be a sequel. I am changing how I planned things. I can't wait to finish off this thing, especially since I already have it all cemented in my head. I am going to finish off the plot, as though the second book never happened, which it won't now. I will then write the second book as a side story. so, I don't have to die anymore. I will write the first chapter of the continuation of this chapter sometime soon. PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!**


	16. New Story Update

New Story

**Okay, the sequel is up, for those who don't know. It is called 'The Universe Cries Out' and is mostly from Virgo's POV. It goes through everything that Virgo is going through trying to save everyone, and it follows Orion a bit.**


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